By Canadian Press

US stocks move lower in afternoon trading; oil heads down

Dec 30, 2016 | 8:30 AM

Technology companies led U.S. stock indexes modestly lower Friday afternoon on the final day of trading for the year. Real estate stocks and banks were on track to eke out small gains. Trading was subdued ahead of the New Year’s Day holiday.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average slid 55 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 19,764 as of 2:27 p.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 10 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 2,238. The Nasdaq composite gave up 52 points, or 1 per cent, to 5,380.

THE QUOTE: “So many times we look for a rally at the end of the year, particularly between Christmas and New Year’s,” said J.J. Kinahan, TD Ameritrade’s chief strategist. “But with the incredible up move we’ve had since the election, people are either hesitant to buy things heading into the new year or are taking a little bit of profit.”

TALKED OUT: Charter Communications lost 2.1 per cent on reports that talks with NBCUniversal are going badly, which could potentially lead to a blackout for Spectrum subscribers. Charter gave up $6.20 to $286 and was the biggest decliner in the S&P 500.

NOT PUMPED: Opko Health slumped 19.9 per cent after a trial of a long-acting human growth hormone product produced disappointing results. The stock lost $2.27 to $9.19.

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YELLOW CARD: Cabela’s fell 4.8 per cent after the sporting goods chain said antitrust regulators have asked it to provide more information about its proposed sale to rival Bass Pro Shops for $4.5 billion. The companies said they still expect to close the deal in the first half of 2017. Cabela’s shares were down $2.93 to $58.75.

SHARP MOVE: Iconix Brand Group rose 5.5 per cent after the company said it would sell its Sharper Image brand for $100 million to ThreeSixty Group, the largest Sharper Image licensee. Iconix shares added 49 cents to $9.45.

ATTENTION-GETTER: Mylan rose 73 cents, or 2 per cent, to $38.12. The drugmaker has begun selling a generic version of Concerta, a treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

LEADING THE PACK: Endo International was up 4.2 per cent, the biggest gainer in the S&P 500. The stock added 66 cents to $16.34. End is the worst-performing stock in the index this year, off by more than 73 per cent.

MARKETS OVERSEAS: Global stocks mostly rose on the year’s last day of trading, with Britain’s index rallying to hit another all-time high. The FTSE 100, which was trading for only a half day, rose 0.3 per cent. That leaves the index 14.4 per cent higher over 2016. Elsewhere in Europe, Germany’s DAX rose 0.3 per cent, while France’s CAC 40 gained 0.5 per cent higher. Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.2 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1 per cent.

OIL: Benchmark U.S. crude was down 19 cents to $53.58 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, shed 26 cents to $56.59 a barrel in London.

BONDS AND CURRENCIES: Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.44 per cent from 2.48 per cent late Thursday. In currency trading, the dollar strengthened to 116.79 yen from 116.65 yen late Thursday. The euro rose to $1.0547 from $1.0485.

METALS: The price of gold fell $6.40 to $1,151.70 an ounce. Silver slid 23 cents to $15.99 an ounce. Copper rose 2 cents to $2.51 a pound.

Alex Veiga, The Associated Press