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New York - US stocks edged lower on Wednesday following comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, as a decline in energy shares outweighed gains in the financial sector in the latter stages of trading.
The energy sector, down 1.6%, was the worst performer of the 10 major S&P groups as oil prices retreated on concerns increased exports from Iran will add to a global supply glut. Brent settled down $1.46 at $57.05 while US crude settled down $1.63 at $51.41 a barrel.
"We were positive the whole day and we sort of lost our gains right at the tail end," said Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors in New York.
"If crude were to be going down, that would mean there is an assumption this deal may get through Congress or the President's veto won't get overturned by Congress such that this Iranian flood of crude comes onto the market."
Financials, up 0.7%, helped curb declines. The group was buoyed by a 3.2% rise in Bank of America to $17.68 and a 3.8% gain in US Bancorp to $45.53 after their quarterly results.
The S&P snapped a four-session winning streak, its longest run of gains since January.
Celgene climbed 7% to $131.39 after touching a record high of $135.98. The company said it would buy Receptos to get a potential multibillion-dollar drug.
Yellen said she expects the economy to grow steadily for the rest of the year, allowing the Fed to hike rates, but gave no direct hint on the timing or pace of a hike. The Fed is broadly expected to hike rates in September or December.
The Fed's Beige Book showed US economic activity continued to expand from mid-May through June, with lower energy prices helping boost consumer spending but remaining a drag on manufacturing.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.02% to 18 050.17, the S&P 500 lost 1.55 points to 2 107.4 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 5.95 points 0.12% to 5 098.94.
Corporate America is expected to report its worst sales decline in nearly six years in the second quarter, while profit is expected to have fallen 2.9%, according to Thomson Reuters estimates. The effect of uncertainty in Chinese markets and the strong dollar will also be in focus.
Yum Brands fell 2.9% to $88.88. The owner of Pizza Hut and KFC reported its fourth straight quarter of falling sales, indicating it is still struggling to regain lost ground in China after a food safety scandal last year.
The Nasdaq is likely to get a lift on Thursday on the heels of results from Intel and Netflix after the market close. Intel jumped 5.4% to $31.30 while Netflix surged 10.4% to $108.20 in extended trade, sending Nasdaq e-mini futures up nearly 20 points.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 1 841 to 1 223, for a 1.51-to-1 ratio on the downside; on the Nasdaq, 1 826 issues fell and 998 advanced for a 1.83-to-1 ratio favouring decliners.
The benchmark S&P 500 index posted 30 new 52-week highs and 16 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 140 new highs and 64 new lows.
Volume was light, with about 6.09 billion shares traded on US exchanges, below the 6.66 billion average so far this month, according to BATS Global Markets.
