No Miracle on Wall Street

By subgroup, oil stocks were among the worst performers of the session. The Amex Oil Index fell 1.2%, and the Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index eased 0.6%. Telecom stocks were also hit hard. The Nasdaq Telecom Index slipped 1.3%.

Before the session began, the Commerce Department said durable-goods orders rose 1.9% in November, higher than expectations of a 1.2% increase. Excluding transportation, orders were down 1.1%. The personal consumption expenditure core rate, a key measure of inflation for the Federal Reserve, was unchanged.

Peter Morici, professor at the University of Maryland School of Business and former chief economist at the U.S. International Trade Commission, said that core consumer price inflation is beginning to fall within Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's target range of 1% to 2%.

"However, a few months of favorable news on core inflation are not enough to declare victory in the fight on inflation," Morici added. "More good news will be needed to convince the Federal Reserve that inflation is corralled."

Also on the economic docket, the government said personal spending rose 0.5% last month, slightly below what had been forecast. Income rose 0.3%, falling short of the 0.4% consensus estimate.

Additionally, the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rose to a final December reading of 91.7 from a preliminary 90.2. Economists expected an increase to 90.7.