Stocks close month on listless note

Stocks finished modestly lower Thursday, closing out another listless day of trading on Wall Street with a third-straight loss for the market.

Despite a sluggish few days, the benchmark S&P 500 index still gained 11.1 percent over January and February, its best start to a year since 1991. The index has posted a monthly gain nine out of the past 12 months.

The S&P 500 index slipped 7.89 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,784.49. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 69.16 points, or 0.3 percent, to 25,916. The Nasdaq composite index dropped 21.98 points, or 0.3 percent, to 7,532.53.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies gave up 5.50 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,575.55. Major indexes in Europe closed mostly higher. South Korean stocks fell after talks between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ended abruptly without an agreement.

Technology, energy and consumer products companies pulled down the market, offsetting gains in consumer goods, utilities and real estate stocks.

Investors weighed a government report that showed economic growth slowed at the end of last year. Traders also had an eye on a mixed batch of corporate earnings reports.

“You have a market that’s trying to digest what’s next right now; really all week it’s been kind of consolidating a little bit,” said Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at Baird. “You also have month-end selling, which is not uncommon.”

The market’s strong start to the year is in stark contrast to a dismal end to 2018, when a plunge almost put an end to the bull market. The gains so far this year are being pushed by investor confidence in prospects for steady growth and an increasingly hands-off Federal Reserve.

Still, the modest decline in stocks this week after a barely broken string of weekly gains in the S&P 500 suggests the market’s momentum has started to stall a little bit, Delwiche said.

“A flat week feels like something has changed,” Delwiche said.

Investors are still waiting for more details on trade negotiations between the U.S. and China. Top trade official Robert Lighthizer has raised doubts about progress, telling lawmakers that “much still needs to be done” before the sides can reach an agreement over Beijing’s technology strategy and other issues.

The latest snapshot of the U.S. economy shows that it grew in the fourth quarter at its slowest pace since the beginning of 2018. The growth still beat economists’ forecasts, however, which sent bond yields higher. A bright spot in the latest report shows that for the full year, the economy grew at its fastest pace since 2015.

Still, signs that the global economy will slow this year, dragging down corporate profits, remain a concern for investors.

U.S. crude rose 0.5 percent to settle at $57.22 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell 0.5 percent to close at $66.03 a barrel in London.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.72 percent from 2.69 percent late Wednesday.

The dollar rose to 111.42 yen from 110.04 yen on Wednesday. The euro strengthened to $1.1379 from $1.1370.

Gold fell 0.4 percent to $1,316.10 an ounce. Silver dropped 0.8 percent to $15.63 an ounce. Copper declined 0.5 percent to $2.95 a pound.

In other energy futures trading, wholesale gasoline slid 0.3 percent to $1.63 a gallon. Heating oil rose 0.1 percent to $2.02 a gallon. Natural gas gained 0.5 percent to $2.81 per 1,000 cubic feet.