U.S. stocks close lower

NEW YORK, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended lower on Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 267.58 points, or 0.61 percent, to 43,449.9. The S&P 500 sank 23.47 points, or 0.39 percent, to 6,050.61. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 64.83 points, or 0.32 percent, to 20,109.06.

Ten of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with industrials and energy leading the laggards by dropping 0.90 percent and 0.76 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, consumer discretionary bucked the trend by rising 0.28 percent.