Big Year Ends With a Fizzle

Shares of AT&T added 25 cents, or 0.7%, to $35.75. BellSouth gained 31 cents, or 0.7%, to close at $47.11.

In the absence of any major economic release, Treasuries ticked lower. The benchmark 10-year lost 4/32 in price to yield 4.70% and the 30-year eased by 1/32, yielding 4.81%. The dollar was mixed against the world's major currencies.

Crude futures were higher in Nymex floor trading, extending the previous session's gain. The February contract added 52 cents to close at $61.05 a barrel. Gold rose $1.10 to $638 an ounce, while silver was off by a half-cent to $12.93 an ounce.

Overseas, the Tokyo Nikkei was unchanged at 17,225, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was lower by 0.2% at 19,965. London's FTSE was down 0.3% at 6220, and Frankfurt's Xetra DAX eased 0.2% at 6596.