WALL Street stocks closed lower overnight in thin trading, ending a six-day winning streak as fresh data showed rising consumer sentiment and home prices falling at a slower pace.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.67 points (0.02 per cent) to 10,545.41 in final trades.
The technology-rich Nasdaq composite fell 2.68 points (0.12 per cent) to 2288.40 and the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index shed 1.59 points (0.14 per cent) to a provisional close of 1126.19.
The blue-chip Dow and the S&P 500 had ended Monday at their highest peaks since early October 2008, while the Nasdaq stood at its best level since early September last year.
The market was listless on Tuesday ahead of the New Year holiday.
"Declines in energy and tech stocks offset a rise in home prices and consumer confidence," said Wells Fargo Advisors market strategist Scott Marcouiller.
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Market action began as the S&P/Case-Shiller home-prices indexes showed US home prices dropped at a slower annual rate in October but prices were flat compared with September.
The report showed prices in 10 major metropolitan areas dipped 6.4 per cent in October from a year earlier, while those in 20 major metropolitan areas fell 7.3 per cent. Both indexes were flat in October from the previous month.
The market also weighed the latest consumer sentiment report from business research group The Conference Board.
Its December consumer confidence index climbed to 52.9 in December from an upwardly revised 50.6 in November, the second consecutive monthly rise.
The reading was a shade below the 53.0 expected by most analysts.
Consumer sentiment is a critical benchmark tracking recovery of the US economy emerging from recession since December 2007.
MTSU poll finds slip in consumer confidenceResources lead shares higher
