U.S. 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 .SPLRCU - 2014's best sector performer - leading the 

decline with a drop of 0.9 percent, followed by telecom .SPLRCL, 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 U.S. 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.

The speed and scale of the rally could push traders to take profits, and volatility could be amplified with many market participants out for the holiday, which depresses volume. The stock market will be closed on Thursday for the New Year's holiday.

"I still like equities, but we’re at a point where valuations are no longer really cheap. I don’t see much that looks inexpensive," said James Liu, global market strategist for JPMorgan Funds in Chicago.

Liu said that investors would typically buy defensive sectors in an environment like the current one, "but those are actually the most expensive. The standard playbook has been turned on its head." He added that he preferred cyclical sectors in 2015.

In the latest economic data, consumer confidence rose slightly less than expected in December, while U.S. single-family home price appreciation slowed less than forecast in October.

NeuroDerm Ltd (NDRM.O) soared 60 percent to $9.88 on heavy volume after it said data from a mid-stage study suggested that a higher dose of its Parkinson's drug could provide an alternative to treatments that require surgery.

Civeo Corp (CVEO.N), which provides temporary housing for oilfield workers and miners, said late Monday it slashed its workforce and forecast revenue could fall by one-third as slumping crude prices force oil producers to cut costs. The stock plunged 51 percent to $4.07 on volume of about 27.4 million shares, making for the most active day in its history.

At 11:00 a.m. the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 48.06 points, or 0.27 percent, to 17,990.17, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 5.28 points, or 0.25 percent, to 2,085.29 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 14.25 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,792.67.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 1,677 to 1,235, for a 1.36-to-1 ratio; on the Nasdaq, 1,451 issues fell and 1,090 advanced for a 1.33-to-1 ratio .

The S&P 500 was posting 19 new 52-week highs and 5 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite was recording 69 new highs and 29 new lows.

Reuters

U.S. consumer confidence increased in December, bolstered by a brightening jobs situation that left perceptions about economic conditions at a high last seen in February 2008, according to a private sector report released on Tuesday.

The Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer attitudes rose to 92.6 from an upwardly revised 91.0 the month

before. Economists expected a reading of 93.0 for December, according to a Reuters poll.

November was originally reported as 88.7.

"Consumer confidence rebounded modestly in December, propelled by a considerably more favorable assessment of current economic and labor market conditions," Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board, said in a statement. "... They are more confident at year-end than they were at the beginning of the year."

The expectations index in December was 88.5 versus November's revised 89.3, and the present situation index rose to 98.6 from a revised 93.7 in November. The present situation index is now at its highest level since February 2008.

The "jobs hard to get" index was 27.7 in December, versus a revised 28.7 the month before.

Reuters

Fuji Heavy Industries (7270.T), the maker of Subaru brand cars and SUVs, has scrapped a plan to shift production of the new XV Crosstrek to its U.S. plant and will instead make the SUV in Japan, a source familiar with the company's production plans said.

Fuji Heavy, which has a policy of making cars in markets where they are sold, decided to make the new vehicle in Japan because of 

capacity constraints in Indiana and the relatively high sales price of the crossover SUV, which makes domestic production more viable, the source said.

Pricing for the Crosstrek starts at just under $25,000 for the limited edition and just under $30,000 for the hybrid version.

The company had originally planned to make about 65,000 XV Crosstrek vehicles a year in Lafayette, Indiana, but will instead assemble them at its plant in Gunma prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, according to production plans reviewed by Reuters and a person with knowledge of the situation, who asked not to be named.

The automaker has achieved record-breaking sales in the United States, with a 21 percent surge in the year through November compared with a year earlier.

A Fuji Heavy spokesman said he could not comment on production plans for individual vehicles but said there was no change to the company's overall strategy of localizing production.

Fuji Heavy's decision to keep Crosstrek production in Japan follows moves by other Japanese automakers to shift some production back home as the yen weakens.

Since mid-October, the yen has lost about 11 percent against the U.S. dollar and now trades above 120 per dollar, its lowest since 2007.

Fuji Heavy is planning to begin manufacturing the Crosstrek in Japan around April 2017, the source said.

Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) announced in late 2013 that it would end its arrangement with Fuji Heavy for producing Camry sedans at the Indiana plant, freeing up capacity for Subaru models.

Toyota is considering moving production of some new Camrys from its Kentucky plant to Japan, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters this week.

Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) CEO Carlos Ghosn told reporters last week that the automaker would take advantage of the weakened yen to return production of its popular Rogue SUV to a Japanese plant for export to the United States.

Reuters

U.S. stocks rose for a fifth straight session on Tuesday, with the Dow climbing above 18,000 for the first time ever after an unexpectedly strong report on economic growth.

Both the Dow and S&P 500 hit intraday records, and the S&P is on track for its 51st record close of 2014. The gains pushed the Dow as high as 18,051.14, and the blue-chip index is now up about 175 percent from a 12-year low hit on March 9, 2009.

The final estimate for third-quarter U.S. economic growth was revised up to a 5 percent annual pace, its quickest in 11 years and easily topping expectations calling for growth of 4.3 percent.

"Everyone is surprised, and I'm definitely pleased," said Wayne Kaufman, chief market analyst at Phoenix Financial Services in New York. "How can inflation be so low when GDP is so high? Either this is just a one-off and GDP will fall back dramatically, or we'll see a pickup in inflation, which could put more pressure on the Fed."

The report spurred a broad rally, with nine of the ten primary S&P 500 sectors higher on the day. The only group to fall was healthcare .SPXHC, down 2.5 percent alongside a massive drop in biotech stocks.

The Nasdaq biotech index .NBI fell 5.4 percent, its biggest one-day decline since April 10. Components of the index made up the top six percentage decliners on the S&P; Celgene Corp (CELG.O) fell 8 percent to $104.49 while Biogen (BIIB.O) lost 6.6 percent to $329.14 and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN.O) lost 6 percent to $388.

Gilead Pharmaceuticals (GILD.O) fell 4.5 percent to $88.70, extending Monday's drop of 14 percent, which came after Express Scripts (ESRX.O) said it would abandon covering Gilead's hepatitis C treatment in favor of a cheaper option.

"This is just a kneejerk reaction, based on a bear thesis that Express Scripts will start to dictate prices," said Kaufman. "I don't see how this is any different than any other company in another sector getting more competition. Soon people will go through the stocks one-by-one to see which got oversold."

At 1:10 p.m. (1810 GMT) the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 99.21 points, or 0.55 percent, to 18,058.65, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 5.72 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,084.26 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 12.25 points, or 0.26 percent, to 4,769.17.

In addition to the GDP report, data showed a solid rise in consumer spending while consumer sentiment hit its highest level in nearly eight years. Separately, durable goods orders unexpectedly fell in November while new home sales fell for a second straight month.

Trading volume is expected to be light this week due to the Christmas holiday, which could increase volatility. U.S. equity markets will open for an abbreviated session Wednesday and be closed on Thursday.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 2,086 to 932, for a 2.24-to-1 ratio on the upside; on the Nasdaq, 1,463 issues rose and 1,222 fell for a 1.20-to-1 ratio favoring advancers.

The benchmark S&P 500 index was posting 113 new 52-week highs and 5 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite was recording 164 new highs and 42 new lows.

Reuters

U.S. stocks were modestly higher on Monday, after the benchmark S&P 500 notched its best weekly performance in nearly two months, as a sharp drop in Gilead Sciences reined in broader gains.

Gilead Sciences (GILD.O) slumped 9.9 percent to $97.71 as the biggest drag on both the S&P and Nasdaq 100 .NDX indexes. Express Scripts (ESRX.O), the nation's largest pharmacy 

benefit manager, has lined up a cheaper price from AbbVie Inc (ABBV.N) for its newly approved hepatitis C treatment and, in most cases, will no longer cover Gilead's treatments.

"That is very specific to Gilead, so that one is getting crushed, but it shouldn’t necessarily set a completely negative tone over the rest of the market, there is no reason for it," said Ken Polcari, director of the NYSE floor division at O’Neil Securities in New York.

"The market has had a decent move the last couple of days, so anything could cause people to take a little money off the table."

The benchmark S&P index .SPX rose 3.4 percent last week, boosted by a 5 percent jump over three sessions, after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it would take a "patient" approach toward raising interest rates and oil prices appeared to stabilize. The S&P energy index .SPNY surged nearly 10 percent for the week.

Brent crude LCOc1 hit a high of $62.97 and WTI crude rose to as much as $58.53 but reversed gains and turned lower after Saudi Arabia indicated it could increase its output. Brent was last down 54 cents at $60.84 while U.S. crude was last off 1.6 percent at $56.24. [O/R]

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 84.7 points, or 0.48 percent, to 17,889.5, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 2.68 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,073.33 and the Nasdaq Composite.IXIC added 11.64 points, or 0.24 percent, to 4,777.02.

Housing shares were lower after existing home sales slumped 6.1 percent to an annual rate of 4.93 million units, the lowest level since May. The PHLX housing sector index lost 0.5 percent.

Trading volume is expected to be light this week due to the Christmas holiday, which could increase volatility. U.S. equity markets will open for an abbreviated session Wednesday and be closed on Thursday.

Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc (ACHN.O) said it would test a combination of two of its experimental hepatitis C drugs which showed promise in separate studies. Its shares surged 17 percent to $16.63.

Caesars Entertainment Corp (CZR.O) said it would merge with affiliate Caesars Acquisition (CACQ.O) in an all-stock deal. Caesars Entertainment jumped 20 percent to $16.18 while Caesars Acquisition rose 8.1 percent to $10.23.

U.S. stocks were modestly higher on Monday, after the benchmark S&P 500 notched its best weekly performance in nearly two months, as a sharp drop in Gilead Sciences reined in broader gains.

Gilead Sciences (GILD.O) slumped 9.9 percent to $97.71 as the biggest drag on both the S&P and Nasdaq 100 .NDX indexes. Express Scripts (ESRX.O), the nation's largest pharmacy benefit manager, has lined up a cheaper price from AbbVie Inc (ABBV.N) for its newly approved hepatitis C treatment and, in most cases, will no longer cover Gilead's treatments.

"That is very specific to Gilead, so that one is getting crushed, but it shouldn’t necessarily set a completely negative tone over the rest of the market, there is no reason for it," said Ken Polcari, director of the NYSE floor division at O’Neil Securities in New York.

"The market has had a decent move the last couple of days, so anything could cause people to take a little money off the table."

The benchmark S&P index .SPX rose 3.4 percent last week, boosted by a 5 percent jump over three sessions, after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it would take a "patient" approach toward raising interest rates and oil prices appeared to stabilize. The S&P energy index .SPNY surged nearly 10 percent for the week.

Brent crude LCOc1 hit a high of $62.97 and WTI crude rose to as much as $58.53 but reversed gains and turned lower after Saudi Arabia indicated it could increase its output. Brent was last down 54 cents at $60.84 while U.S. crude was last off 1.6 percent at $56.24. [O/R]

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 84.7 points, or 0.48 percent, to 17,889.5, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 2.68 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,073.33 and the Nasdaq Composite.IXIC added 11.64 points, or 0.24 percent, to 4,777.02.

Housing shares were lower after existing home sales slumped 6.1 percent to an annual rate of 4.93 million units, the lowest level since May. The PHLX housing sector index lost 0.5 percent.

Trading volume is expected to be light this week due to the Christmas holiday, which could increase volatility. U.S. equity markets will open for an abbreviated session Wednesday and be closed on Thursday.

Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc (ACHN.O) said it would test a combination of two of its experimental hepatitis C drugs which showed promise in separate studies. Its shares surged 17 percent to $16.63.

Caesars Entertainment Corp (CZR.O) said it would merge with affiliate Caesars Acquisition (CACQ.O) in an all-stock deal. Caesars Entertainment jumped 20 percent to $16.18 while Caesars Acquisition rose 8.1 percent to $10.23.

Reuters

U.S. stocks were little changed on Friday after the market's best two-day run in more than three years, with shares of Nike weighing on the Dow while energy shares led a modest advance on the benchmark S&P 500.

The S&P 500 index had climbed 4.5 percent over the previous two sessions, spurred by the U.S. Federal Reserve's commitment to take a "patient" approach toward raising interest rates, while signaling it was on track to boost rates in 2015. That provided clarity and relief to investors over the policy outlook, analysts said.

Brent crude LCOc1 oil advanced above $60 a barrel on Friday, recovering from near a 5-1/2-year low, while WTI crude CLc1 climbed 3.3 percent to $55.90.

The benchmark stock index has risen more than 3 percent this week, putting the S&P on track for its best weekly performance in two months. It has erased nearly all the losses from the prior week, which were spurred by a sharp drop in oil prices.

Shares of Nike (NKE.N) shed 2.8 percent, a day after the company flagged slowing growth in western Europe.

At 1:16 p.m. EST, the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 12.64 points, or 0.07 percent, to 17,765.51, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 2.58 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,063.81 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 7.18 points, or 0.15 percent, to 4,755.57.

Quadruple witching - the expiration of stock options, index options, index futures and single-stock futures - may add to the day's volatility, along with the rebalancing of the S&P 500, which is scheduled to take effect after the close.

Shares of Red Hat (RHT.N) surged 10.9 percent after it raised its profit forecast for the full year and reported quarterly revenue and profit that beat expectations.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 1,780 to 1,258, for a 1.41-to-1 ratio; on the Nasdaq, 1,389 issues rose and 1,265 fell for a 1.10-to-1 ratio.

The benchmark S&P 500 index was posting 102 new 52-week highs and 5 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite was recording 94 new highs and 35 new lows.

Reuters

Oil bounced higher on Friday as selling pressure from a six-month price rout eased for a second time this week on short-covering, helped by fresh buying in U.S. crude before the expiry of the front-month contract.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures traded above $55 a barrel while benchmark Brent hovered above the psychologically key $60 level, gaining over 2 percent in New York's morning trade.

On a weekly basis though, Brent and U.S. crude were headed for a fourth straight week of losses, due to earlier declines this week on long-running worries about a huge supply overhang in oil.

Brent is down nearly 14 percent and WTI has shed nearly 16 percent in December, and both have lost roughly 50 percent since their June highs.

"At least I'm not convinced that with Brent at $60 or WTI above $55, we've seen the bottom yet," said Tariq Zahir, managing member at Tyche Capital Advisors in Laurel Hollow, New York.

"If the market keeps going higher, it'll be a sign for me to sell into the strength, doing about 20 percent more of my normal size, to take advantage of the exaggerated moves we'll be seeing from the low volumes during the Christmas and New Year weeks."

Brent's front-month LCOc1 was up $1.18 at $60.46 a barrel by 11:25 a.m. EST. The contract settled down $1.91 on Thursday, after trading as high as $63.70 a barrel.

WTI's January contract CLF5, which expires at Friday's settlement, was up $1.64 to $55.75 a barrel after hitting a session high at $56.25. The February contract CLG5, which becomes WTI's front-month from Monday, was up $1.71 at $56.07.

"There could be more fireworks in WTI later today from the contract switching, and we may even finish lower," said Phil Flynn, analyst at the Price Futures Group in Chicago.

Oil began tumbling in June on worries about fast-growing U.S. shale crude supplies and accelerated its fall after OPEC's decision in November not to cut output.

Oil companies have been announcing cuts in exploration and capital spending as the price rout makes some drilling projects uneconomic.

But energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie said on Friday drillers had to do more.

On top of $9 billion in spending cuts already announced, drillers need to reduce spending next year by another $170 billion, or 37 percent, from 2014 if Brent remains at current levels, it said.

Reuters

 Brent crude pared early gains on Thursday to trade back below $62 a barrel, giving up much of a 3 percent spike in London as traders assessed whether a price rout is done.

Oil this week slumped as low as $58.50 and has almost halved since June as fast-growing U.S. shale output overwhelms demand, with losses accelerating after producer group OPEC decided not to cut output at its meeting last month.

But signs that lower prices are threatening future production have given some traders pause, helping the market recover in the last two sessions. Oil briefly spiked as much as 6 percent on Wednesday as players rushed to close short positions.

At 1511 GMT on Thursday, Brent for February delivery LCOc1 was 64 cents higher at $61.82, paring gains after hitting an intraday high of $63.70 early in the session. It is still up almost 6 percent since Tuesday's five-year low.

U.S. crude CLc1 for January delivery, which expires after Friday's settlement, was up 26 cents at $56.73 a barrel.

"It looks like investors favour support around $60 a barrel," said Daniel Ang, an investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore, adding that lower investment in production could be felt in the market as early as the second quarter of 2015.

Chevron Corp (CVX.N) has put a plan to drill for oil in the Beaufort Sea in Canada's Arctic on indefinite hold, while Marathon Oil (MRO.N) cut its capital expenditure for next year by about 20 percent.

Canadian oil producers also deepened cuts in 2015 spending, as Husky Energy (HSE.TO), MEG Energy (MEG.TO) and Penn West Petroleum (PWT.TO) joined those hacking back capital budgets.

The oil minister of top OPEC producer Saudi Arabia said on Thursday he believes the drop in prices will be short-lived as demand for crude picks up.

"I am optimistic about the future, what we are facing now and what the world is facing is a temporary situation and will pass," Ali al-Naimi was quoted by state news agency SPA as saying.

OPEC members that backed an output cut last month are coming around to the Saudi view that they need to focus on market share.

"We are just watching and selling oil at whatever the price is," said a delegate from an OPEC country that had wanted an output cut in November.

Saudi Arabia, which opposed cutting output, raised exports in October to 6.9 million barrels per day from 6.7 million bpd in September, data showed.

Reuters

U.S. stocks rose on Thursday, with each of the major indexes climbing more than 1 percent, building on the prior session's rally after the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy statement and oil prices that showed signs of steadying.

The benchmark S&P 500 index had notched its best day since October 2013 on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve gave an upbeat assessment of the U.S. economy and said it 

would take a patient approach toward raising interest rates.

"The bottom line is a June (rate hike) is still in play and even doves need to tighten at some point when the numbers start looking good," said James Liu, global market strategist at JPMorgan Funds in Chicago.

"The economy is improving, things are picking up, they need to get the ball rolling on this."

Oil prices continued to climb Thursday, extending a rebound off five-year lows, with Brent crude LCOc1 rising as high as $63.70 and WTI crude CLc1 up nearly 2 percent, before paring gains. Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) rose 2 percent to $90.80 and the S&P Energy sector .SPNY rose 1.5 percent after a jump of over 4 percent in the prior session.

"On the oil front, the fact you have seen energy pop by about five percent the last two days, there is the notion out there that oil has certainly stabilized," said Liu.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 225.8 points, or 1.3 percent, to 17,582.67, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 26.92 points, or 1.34 percent, to 2,039.81, and the Nasdaq Composite.IXIC added 61.71 points, or 1.33 percent, to 4,706.02.

Weekly jobless claims fell by 6,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 289,000, against expectations for 295,000, suggesting the labor market continued to strengthen.

Financial data firm Markit said its "flash" services Purchasing Managers Index hit 53.6 in December, down from November's final reading of 56.2 and well below economists' expectations for a rise to 56.9. However, it remained above the 50 threshold indicating expansion.

Oracle Corp (ORCL.N) advanced 7.5 percent to $44.25 after quarterly results topped Wall Street expectations, helping to lift the S&P technology sector .SPLRCT by 1.8 percent.

Canadian convenience store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc (ATDb.TO) said it will buy U.S. convenience store chain The Pantry Inc (PTRY.O) for $1.7 billion, including debt. Pantry shares gained 2.5 percent to $36.40.

Rita Aid (RAD.N) shares surged 12.4 percent to $6.81 after the drugstore chain's quarterly results topped expectations and it boosted its 2015 outlook.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE 2,611 to 288, for a 9.07-to-1 ratio; on the Nasdaq, 1,912 issues rose and 442 fell, for a 4.33-to-1 ratio favoring advancers.

The S&P 500 was posting 33 new 52-week highs and 5 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite was recording 87 new highs and 10 new lows.

Reuters

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, suggesting the labor market continued to strengthen.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 289,000 for the week ended Dec. 13, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

The report came a day after the Federal Reserve offered an upbeat assessment of the labor market and the broader economy, and signaled it could start raising interest rates next year.

The U.S. central bank, which has kept its short-term interest rate near zero since December 2008, lowered its unemployment rate forecast on Wednesday. Many economists expect the first rate hike in mid-2015.

Yields on U.S. Treasuries held at higher levels after the claims data, while U.S. stock index futures were trading higher. The dollar was slightly stronger against a basket of currencies.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims edging up to 295,000 last week. The prior week's data was revised to show 1,000 more applications received than previously reported.

The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, slipped by 750 to 298,750.

Last week's data covered the period during which the government surveyed employers for December's nonfarm payrolls.

The four-week average of claims rose by 11,000 between the November and December survey periods, suggesting a step back in job growth after payrolls surged by 321,000 last month. The December payrolls are still expected to come in above 200,000.

Job gains have exceeded 200,000 for 10 straight months, the longest such stretch since 1994.

A Labor Department analyst said there were no special factors influencing last week's claims data.

The report showed the number of people still receiving benefits after an initial week of aid fell by 147,000 to 2.37 million in the week ended Dec. 6.

Reuters