U.S. stocks decline on downbeat data

U.S. stocks pared early gains to end lower Wednesday, as the country's pending home sales data came out much worse than expected.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 111.36 points, or 0.56 percent, to 19,833.68. The S&P 500 dipped 18.96 points, or 0.84 percent, to 2,249.92. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 48.89 points, or 0.89 percent, to 5,438.56.

U.S. pending home sales tumbled in November to their lowest level in nearly a year as the brisk upswing in mortgage rates and not enough inventory dispirited some would-be buyers, according to the National Association of Realtors Wednesday.

The Pending Home Sales Index dropped 2.5 percent from October reading of 110.0 to 107.3 in November, well below market consensus of a 0.5-percent gain.

Meanwhile, investors became cautious after recent solid gains as the Dow was approaching the psychologically mark of 20,000 points.

Overseas, European equities closed narrowly mixed Wednesday in light festive trading. German benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange edged up 0.02 percent, while French benchmark index CAC 40 edged down 0.01 percent.

In Asia, Tokyo shares were little changed Wednesday on subdued trading before the end of the year. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average decreased 0.01 percent to 19,401.72 points. Enditem