U.S. stocks trade fall ahead of Christmas holiday

U.S. stocks ended lower on Friday after mild consumer prices data, ahead of Christmas holiday.

In the closing trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 78.03, or 0.63 percent, to 12,343.22. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 7.53, or 0.53 percent, at 1,410.77, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 14.67, or 0.61 percent, to 2,401.18. The Commerce Department said on Friday that consumer prices were flat in November, bringing the year-over-year increase in core inflation down to 2.2 percent, above the Federal Reserve's comfort zone of 2 percent.

The personal consumption expenditure (PCE) rice index was unchanged, as was the core PCE price index, which excludes food and energy prices. Read the full government report. It was the lowest core inflation in four years. Core prices have risen at a 1. 8 percent annual rate over the past three months.

Source: Xinhua