The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 25.02 points (0.20 percent) to 12,356.21.

The broader S&P 500-stock index gave up 1.09 points (0.08 percent) to 1,316.28 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 12.74 points (0.46 percent) to 2,746.16.

While the rest of the market drooped, oil company shares surged after US banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley forecast the price for Brent crude, London's benchmark, would hit $130 a barrel in 2012, compared to Tuesday's closing price of $112.53.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011