US close: Stocks dip heading into Xmas break after mixed economic data
Wall Street's main market gauges finished the last trading day before Christmas slightly lower following the release of a batch of mixed readings on the economy.
By the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down by 0.11% to 24,754.06, alongside a drop of 0.05% to 2,683.34 for the S&P 500 and a fall of 0.08% to 6,959.96 in the Nasdaq Composite.
From a sector standpoint, the worst performing areas of the market were: Footwear (-1.93%), Mortgage Finance (-1.18%) and Full Line insurance (-1.08%).
US equity markets had rallied in recent weeks amid expectations of a massive tax overhaul. Earlier during the same week, the House and the Senate passed a $1.5trn tax reform bill, sending it to President Donald Trump for his signature.
The bill, which Trump hailed as a "historic victory for the American people", will see corporate tax cut to 21% from 35%, while income tax rates will be reduced across all seven individual tax brackets. It will give individuals and married couples who fall into the highest income bracket of $500,000 and over the largest tax cut, to 37% from 39.6%,
"I promised the American people a big, beautiful tax cut for Christmas. With final passage of this legislation, that is exactly what they are getting," Trump said.
In Europe, Spain's IBEX 35 finished down by more than 1% after Catalonia's pro-independence parties held on to their absolute majority in parliament, although not in terms of their number of votes, in snap regional elections. Nonetheless, the results were a blow to the Spanish government, which had called the polls in the hope of heading off the secessionist push.
The three separatist parties won a total of 70 seats in the 135-seat regional parliament even though the centrist, pro-unionist Citizens party was the single biggest winner, with 36 seats.
Back on the domestic economic front, US durable goods orders jumped by 1.3% month-on-month in November (consensus: 1.8%) and slipped by 0.1% versus October when the transportation sector is excluded (consensus: 0.5%).
Consumer confidence also softened at the end of December, as seen in the University of Michigan's sentiment gauge for that month, which retreated from 98.5 to 95.9, falling short of forecasts calling for a reading of 97.2.
However, according to the Department of Commerce, personal consumption expenditures shot higher by 0.6% in November when compared to the prior month (consensus: 0.4%).
Dow Jones - Risers
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $155.76 0.72%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $152.54 0.66%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $72.11 0.66%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $92.13 0.50%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $53.19 0.34%
Visa Inc. (V) $112.69 0.25%
American Express Co. (AXP) $98.75 0.24%
General Electric Co. (GE) $17.50 0.17%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $98.21 0.15%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $83.97 0.14%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Nike Inc. (NKE) $63.29 -2.29%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $108.67 -0.82%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $258.98 -0.78%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $220.00 -0.76%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $140.18 -0.67%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $56.37 -0.42%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $107.48 -0.35%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $36.14 -0.28%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $171.43 -0.25%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $46.70 -0.13%
S&P 500 - Risers
SCANA Corp. (SCG) $39.01 4.33%
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) $22.43 4.30%
Spectra Energy Corp. (SE) $13.25 3.68%
Edison International (EIX) $65.25 3.03%
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $28.18 2.55%
Kroger Co. (KR) $28.25 2.54%
NiSource Inc. (NI) $25.28 2.51%
Alcoa Corporation (AA) $49.99 2.04%
ONEOK Inc. (OKE) $53.22 1.90%
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) $52.93 1.87%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Endo International Plc (ENDP) $7.81 -2.38%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $63.29 -2.29%
Southern Co. (SO) $48.50 -2.00%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $6.98 -1.83%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $106.02 -1.81%
H&R Block Inc. (HRB) $26.23 -1.76%
Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $156.85 -1.75%
CVS Health Corp (CVS) $73.41 -1.65%
Allergan plc (AGN) $164.90 -1.63%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $35.11 -1.57%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $35.52 4.10%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $33.88 3.20%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $223.12 1.99%
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $5.37 1.90%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $114.53 1.61%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $338.20 1.58%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $109.46 0.91%
Liberty Interactive Corporation - Series A Liberty Ventures (LVNTA) $58.02 0.90%
Ctrip.Com International Ltd. Ads (CTRP) $45.15 0.89%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $149.97 0.77%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Liberty Global Plc Lilac Class A (LILA) $21.05 -3.84%
Liberty Global Plc Lilac Class C (LILAK) $20.90 -3.15%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $325.20 -1.95%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $106.02 -1.81%
Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $156.85 -1.75%
Liberty Interactive Corporation QVC Group (QVCA) $26.18 -1.69%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $365.63 -1.54%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $106.33 -1.44%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $101.92 -1.25%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $48.53 -1.20%