(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock benchmarks traded near unchanged, with health-care shares falling more than 1.5 percent after President-elect Donald Trump declared himself an opponent of high drug prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average held near the record it set yesterday, while defensive shares in the real estate, utilities and phone sectors gained as 10-Year Treasury yields slipped.
The S&P 500 Index lost 0.1 percent to 2,209.8 at 9:47 a.m. in New York as the decline in health-care stocks offset gains in REITs and utilities. The benchmark rose 0.3 percent on Tuesday after durable goods orders beat economist estimates, bringing it to within 0.5 percent of its Nov. 25 record.
- Two of 11 industries lower
- VIX down 0.9 percent to 11.68, lowest since August
- Health-care companies in S&P 500 decrease 1.6 percent, most since Oct. 28; Nasdaq Biotechnology index falls 2.7 percent
- Data on U.S. mortgage applications are due Wednesday, followed by jobless claims on Thursday. Factory orders were in line with expectations yesterday as durable goods beat forecasts.
- Fed officials are due to announce a decision on rates on Dec. 14. Futures traders are pricing in a 100 percent chance they'll raise rates, compared with 68 percent odds at the start of November.
- Investors are focusing on the European Central Bank meeting tomorrow for insight on how Italy's referendum vote will affect the ECB's quantitative-easing program.
- S&P 500 is heading for its first annual advance since 2014, up 8.1 percent this year. Dow has rallied 10 percent.
--With assistance from Aleksandra Gjorgievska To contact the reporter on this story: Joseph Ciolli in New York at jciolli@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Celeste Perri at cperri@bloomberg.net, Todd White
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