Technology and healthcare stocks make gains on quiet Wall Street day

US stock indexes capped another quiet day on Wall Street on Wednesday with slight gains, recouping some of the market's modest losses from a day earlier.

Technology, healthcare and industrials stocks accounted for much of the gain.

A report showing that pending US home sales inched higher last month helped lift housebuilder shares.

Retailers and consumer-goods manufacturers declined the most, following a late-afternoon slide. Energy stocks also fell along with the price of crude oil.

Bond yields fell following a report showing US consumer confidence dipped this month.

"Trading is obviously very light, but the market is certainly going out on a high as we head into the end of the year," said Erik Davidson, chief investment officer for Wells Fargo Private Bank.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 2.12 points, or 0.1%, to 2,682.62. The Dow Jones industrial average added 28.09 points, or 0.1%, to 24,774.30.

The Nasdaq rose 3.09 points, or 0.04%, to 6,939.34. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks lost 0.29 points, or 0.02%, to 1,543.94.

Wednesday was another quiet, post-holiday day for the markets, though a couple of economic reports helped drive some trades.

The National Association of Realtors said signed contracts to buy US homes increased 0.2% in November. The report is a barometer of future purchases.

Most housebuilder shares moved higher after the report. LGI Homes led the pack, climbing 2.47 dollars, or 3.4%, to 75.46 dollars.

Separately, the Conference Board said its latest consumer confidence index declined slightly this month, just missing analysts' forecasts.

The decline in the index drove a pick-up in bond purchases, sending prices higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slid to 2.41% from 2.48% late on Tuesday.

Technology stocks were among the biggest gainers on Wednesday. Qorvo was up the most, adding 1.36 dollars, or 2.1%, to 67.26 dollars.

Several health sector stocks also notched gains. Envision Healthcare picked up 82 cents, or 2.4%, to 34.56 dollars.

Shares in Macy's and other big retail chains declined a day after scoring gains on strong festive season sales.

Macy's slid 1.21 dollars, or 4.5%, to 25.64 dollars, while Kohl's lost 1.58 dollars, or 2.8%, to 55.29 dollars.

Callaway Golf tumbled 6.9% after the company said it invested another 20 million dollars in entertainment company Topgolf, giving it a 14% stake. Callaway lost 1.04 dollars to 14.02 dollars.

Major stock indexes in Europe finished mostly higher. Germany's DAX was flat, while France's CAC 40 edged up 1%. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.4%.

Earlier in Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 edged up nearly 0.1%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was virtually unchanged. South Korea's Kospi added 0.4%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng inched 0.1% higher.

AP