New Year - Wall Street lagged a rise in global markets on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closing slightly lower even as energy shares gained along with a surge in oil prices.
Upbeat US housing data and Chinese factory data were not enough to drive up sentiment and a second day of testimony by US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen provided few new clues on the timing of an interest rate hike.
MSCI's 46-country world index was up 0.19% at 433.63 points at the end of the US trading session, stopping a fraction of a point short of its September peak.