Wary traders send US stocks lower

Wall Street’s hopes of prolonging its year-end rally suffered another blow today as cautious traders sold off stocks and the technology sector posted a steep decline.

The market opened little changed but turned lower at midday despite a court victory for Pfizer Inc. and a multibillion acquisition by FPL Group Inc. Google Inc.’s investment in America Online and strong earnings from Circuit City Stores Inc. were unable to lift tech shares, which have slid sharply lower in recent days.