US stocks end slightly lower in quiet trading day

Stock indexes are ending mostly lower in a relatively quiet day of trading on Wall Street.

Homebuilder PulteGroup sank 7% on news that the company's CEO will retire next year as part of a management shake-up.

Virgin America jumped 40% after agreeing to be acquired by Alaska Air. Alaska Air sank 6%.

The Dow Jones industrial average edged down 55 points, or 0.3%, to 17,737.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index gave up six points, or 0.3%, to 2,066. The Nasdaq composite moved down 22 points, or 0.5%, to 4,891.

The price of US crude oil declined 3% in New York.

Bond prices did not move much. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note held steady at 1.77%.