* Home prices unchanged, consumer confidence rises
* Apple falls on Nokia patent dispute, after recent gains
* Dow off 0.02 pct, S&P down 0.1 pct, Nasdaq down 0.1 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click STXNEWS/US
(Updates to close)
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK, Dec 29 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks edged lower in a
low-volume session on Tuesday, breaking a six-day string of
gains as investors found little reason to push stocks higher
as the year's end approached.
Data showing a rise in consumer confidence was offset by a
housing report pointing to more bumps in the road.
The day's decline followed six days of gains. But the
benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index is still up 25 percent
for the year.
Trading volume was the lowest for the year, according to
Birinyi Associates, with many participants out before the New
Year's holiday on Friday. At the close, only 638 million
shares had changed hands, compared with last year's estimated
daily average of 1.49 billion on the New York Stock Exchange.
On the data front, the Conference Board's index of
consumer confidence rose more than expected in December to a
reading of 52.9, a three-month high. For details, see
[] In contrast, the S&P/Case-Shiller composite
index of home prices in 20 metropolitan areas, meanwhile, was
unchanged in October, falling short of expectations.
"I don't think anyone is expecting a major climb here out
of this recession," said Owen Fitzpatrick, head of the U.S.
equity group at Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management in New
York.
The housing news drove the Dow Jones U.S. Home
Construction Index <.DJUSHB> down 0.3 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> dipped 1.67
points, or 0.02 percent, to end at 10,545.41. The Standard &
Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> slipped 1.58 points, or 0.14 percent,
to finish at 1,126.20. The Nasdaq Composite Index <>
declined 2.68 points, or 0.12 percent, to close at 2,288.40.
On the plus side, shares of consumer products giant
Procter & Gamble Co <PG.N>, which makes Tide detergent and
Crest toothpaste, rose 0.5 percent to $61.58 on the New York
Stock Exchange.
Weighing on the Nasdaq was iPod and iPhone maker Apple Inc
<AAPL.O>, which slid 1.2 percent to $209.10 after hitting
recent highs. The stock was pressured as Nokia Corp <NOK1V.HE>
said it has filed a complaint against Apple with the
International Trade Commission in a patent dispute.
[]
In corporate news, United Community Banks Inc <UCBI.O> fell
5 percent to $3.24 after the company temporarily suspended its
stock dividend in a move to improve liquidity.
[]
On Friday, U.S. financial markets will be closed for the
New Year's Day holiday.
(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Jan Paschal)
