U.S. stocks closed lower Wednesday in low volume trade as a decline in oil prices weighed.
The Dow Jones industrial average plummeted 117.11 points to 17,603.87, with Nike leading decliners and Wal-Mart the only gainer.
The S&P 500 lost 15 points to 2,063.36. Energy declined nearly 1.5% and materials closed down about 1% to lead all S&P 500 sectors lower.
The NASDAQ index dropped 42.09 points to 5,065.85. Apple closed 1.3% lower.
As of Wednesday's close, the S&P 500 was up 0.2% year-to-date, while the Dow was down 1.2% for the year so far. The NASDAQ was up nearly 7% for 2015.
Pending home sales fell 0.9% in November from an upwardly revised October reading, according to the National Association of Realtors.
WTI and Brent traded about 3% lower below $37 U.S. a barrel after weekly crude oil inventories unexpectedly showed a buildup by 2.6 million barrels.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained slightly, lowering yields to 2.29% from Tuesday's 2.3%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell $1.17 a barrel to $36.70 U.S.
Gold prices slipped $8.31 to $1,060.80 U.S. an ounce.
Source: Baystreet US Market Commentary
(December 30, 2015 - 4:42 PM EST)
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