US stocks edged lower on Tuesday, with major indexes pulling back from record levels as the recent trend of modest moves and low volume continued in the next-to-last trading day of the year. The day's losses were broad if not especially deep. All ten primary S&P 500 sectors were lower on the day, with utilities - 2014's best sector performer - leading the decline with a drop of 0.9 percent, followed by telecom, which fell 0.4 percent. Both sectors are considered defensive groups.
Equities have been trending to the upside recently, buoyed by strong economic data and the US Federal Reserve's commitment to be "patient" about raising interest rates. After the S&P 500 gained nearly 6 percent over the prior eight sessions, it notched its 53rd record close of the year on Monday, while the Dow just missed extending its streak of positive sessions to eight. At 11:00 am (1600 GMT) the Dow Jones industrial average fell 48.06 points, or 0.27 percent, to 17,990.17, the S&P 500 lost 5.28 points, or 0.25 percent, to 2,085.29 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 14.25 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,792.67.
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