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U.S. stocks edge down in morning trading

Xinhua, December 31, 2016 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks turned negative in the morning session on Friday, the last trading day of 2016, as investors looked ahead to the start of 2017.

By noon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 6.42 points, or 0.03 percent, to 19,813.36. The S&P 500 shed 3.00 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,246.26. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 28.11 points, or 0.52 percent, to 5,403.98.

Trading volume was expected to be thin Friday as investors had little news to digest ahead of New Year holidays.

After the Dow Jones Industrial Average drifted away from the 20,000 mark earlier this week, analysts said the Santa rally has run out of steam.

Oil prices were in focus on Friday, as the U.S. oil lost 0.33 percent and Brent crude shed 0.40 percent around midday trading.

Overseas, Tokyo shares closed mixed Friday, with the Nikkei index ending slightly lower as investors locked in gains at end of the year.

U.S. stocks reversed gains to end slightly lower Thursday, as Wall Street digested a batch of economic reports. Endit