Mixed economic data leave US stocks flat

New York - Wall Street stocks on Tuesday finished little changed following data showing unexpectedly strong US economic growth in the third quarter but a drop in consumer confidence in November.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 2.96 points (0.02%) to 17 814.94. The blue-chip index inched up to a new record at the closing bell, but closed in the red afterward.

The broad-based S&P 500 retreated slightly from Monday's record, dropping 2.38 (0.12%) to 2 067.03, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 3.36 (0.07%) at 4 758.25.

The Commerce Department raised its estimate for third-quarter US economic growth to 3.9% from 3.5%. Analysts had projected a downward revision to the initial estimate.

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index fell to 88.7 from 94.1 in October. US home prices rose 4.9% in September from a year ago as price gains continued to slow.

Petroleum stocks suffered as US crude prices sank 2.2% on expectations members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will not agree to cut output Thursday.

Dow member Chevron fell 1.2%, while independent producer Continental Resources dropped 2.9% and oil services giant Schlumberger lost 3.3%.

Apple, the biggest US company by market capitalisation, briefly attained a record market value above $700bn before retreating. Shares finished 0.9% lower.

Jeweler Tiffany gained 2.5% as comparable-store sales in the third quarter rose 4%. The company confirmed its forecast for full-year profits of $4.20-$4.30 per share. Analysts project $4.34 per share.

Workday, which provides cloud-based software to enterprises, dropped 5.5 % after reporting that its third-quarter loss deepened to $59.9m from $47.5m a year ago on higher costs.

Cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks jumped 6.1% as it projected sales in the upcoming quarter of $200m to $204m, above the $198.1m forecast by Wall Street analysts.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury dropped to 2.26% from 2.31% on Monday, while the 30-year declined to 2.97% from 3.02%.