US STOCKS-Wall St dips as year-end record rally cools off

(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or
type LIVE/ in a news window.)
* Wall St drops despite Trump's tweet that Phase 1 deal on
Jan. 15
* China factory activity expands for a second straight month
* S&P 500 set for best year since 2013
* Indexes fall: Dow 0.17%, S&P 0.13%, Nasdaq 0.03%

(Updates comment, prices)
By Manas Mishra
Dec 31 (Reuters) - Wall Street dipped in thin trading on the
last day of the decade as a year-end rally powered by optimism
around trade and a brightening global outlook fizzled out,
though the S&P 500 was still on course for its best year since
2013.
The Dow Jones was on track for its second straight day of
declines, shrugging off President Donald Trump's tweet that a
Phase 1 U.S-China trade deal would be signed on Jan. 15 at the
White House, and that he would later travel to Beijing to begin
negotiations on the next phase. "We had this huge rally since the time we heard that they
were going to sign a deal, the question was just when ... this
just filled in the color," said Larry Adam, chief investment
officer at Raymond James in Baltimore, Maryland.
A relatively loose monetary policy by the Federal Reserve
and upbeat economic indicators have lifted the major U.S. stock
indexes to all-time highs this month, setting up Wall Street to
give up some of its gains.
The three major indexes posted their biggest one-day decline
in about four weeks on Monday, in the absence of major updates
on trade, and as investors booked profits.
On Tuesday, nine of the 11 S&P 500 .SPX sectors were in
the red, with technology .SPLRCT and healthcare .SPXHC among
the top drags.
Schlumberger NV SLB.N and Halliburton Co HAL.N were
among top percentage decliners on the S&P, tracking lower oil
prices. O/R
At 11:11 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was down 48.20 points, or 0.17%, at 28,413.94, the S&P 500
.SPX was down 4.32 points, or 0.13%, at 3,216.97. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 2.51 points, or 0.03%, at 8,943.49.
Latest data from China showed manufacturing activity
expanded for a second straight month in December, partly driven
by seasonal demand. At home, data showed a reading of the consumer confidence
index was 126.5 in December, compared with a revised 126.8 in
November. Among individual stocks, U.S.-listed shares of Tencent Music
Entertainment TME.N rose 2.0% after a consortium led by the
China-based company agreed to buy a stake in Vivendi's Universal
Music Group. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.40-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 1.27-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 3 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 54 new highs and 15 new lows.