The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 90.55 points, or 0.25 percent, to 36,398.08. The S&P 500 fell 14.33 points, or 0.30 percent, to 4,778.73. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 24.65 points, or 0.16 percent, to 15,741.56.
Seven of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with energy and technology both down 0.68 percent, leading the laggards. Real estate rose 0.36 percent, the best-performing group.
U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded higher with all the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on an upbeat note.
On the economic front, U.S. initial jobless claims, a rough way to measure layoff, stood at 198,000 for the week ending Dec. 25, following an upwardly revised 206,000 in the prior week, the Labor Department reported on Thursday. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast new claims to total a seasonally adjusted 205,000.
Elsewhere, the Chicago Business Barometer, also known as the Chicago PMI, rose to 63.1 this month from 61.8 in November. Any reading above 50 signals expansion, while a reading below 50 indicates contraction.
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