New York ? Wall Street closed a remarkable year on a quiet note Wednesday as investors collected some of the solid gains from the stock market’s first winning year since 1999.

Stocks barely budged, but that didn’t take away from their recovery from the grueling three-year bear market. In 2003, the Dow Jones industrials closed up 25.3 percent, the Nasdaq composite surged 50 percent, and the Standard & Poor’s 500 gained 26.4 percent.

“You can’t help but be impressed how much stocks moved this year,” said John Caldwell, chief equity strategist for McDonald Financial Group. “It was in response to a stronger-than-expected economy and earnings growth. We’re seeing the fruits of companies’ labor as they scaled back operations.”

“The question is how much of the stock market gains already account for that” as investors look to 2004, he said.

The Dow closed up 28.88, or 0.3 percent, at 10,453.92, its highest level since March 21, 2002.

The broader market finished mixed. The Nasdaq declined 6.51, or 0.3 percent, to 2,003.37. The S&P 500 rose 2.28, or 0.2 percent, to 1,111.92.

In the end, the three main gauges had their best annual performance in years, with the Dow notching its strongest gain since 1996 and the S&P seeing its best since 1998. The Nasdaq had its third-best performance ever, behind a 57 percent rise in 1991 and an 86 percent gain in 1999.

For the month, the three main indexes posted a gain, with the Dow up 6.9 percent, the Nasdaq higher 2.2 percent and the S&P up 5.1 percent.

The Labor Department reported Wednesday that new jobless claims fell last week by a seasonally adjusted 15,000 to 339,000. It was the third straight week of declines that left claims at their lowest level in nearly three years.

Stocks gained in recent weeks on investor optimism for the strong earnings growth in 2004. But with the main gauges trading at their highest levels in nearly two years, analysts say valuations might be getting a bit high.