U.S. stocks fell for a sixth session in the last seven on Tuesday, after another day of gyrations as equities tracked the price of oil and pondered the impact of lower energy costs and Russia's economic troubles on policy decisions by the Federal Reserve.
The Dow Jones Industrials fell 111.97 points to close the day at 17,068.87.
The S&P 500 shed 16.89 points to 1,972.74, with consumer discretionary falling the most and energy the best performing of its 10 major sectors.
The NASDAQ index tumbled 57.33 points to 4,547.83.
Boeing led blue-chip gains that included seven of 30 components after the plane manufacturer said it would hike its quarterly dividend 25%.
New-home construction in the U.S. topped a million on an annualized rate in November, while housing starts fell 1.6% and building permits declined 5.2% last month.
An industry report on Tuesday had the U.S. manufacturing sector continuing to expand in December but its growth rate at an 11-year low.
Wall Street is also looking to hear from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, with the central bank gathering to consider the timing and size of interest-rate hikes and whether to reiterate its vow to maintain rates low for a considerable period.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained, lowering yields to 2.07% from Monday's 2.12%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained 17 cents per barrel to $56.08 U.S.
Gold prices deducted $11.90 an ounce at $1,195.80 U.S.