Wall Street ends mostly lower

US stock indices closed the first session of the week mixed but still near record highs, led by the retail sector, but a drop in oil prices away from recent 2-1/2 year highs weighed on the energy sector and affected Wall Street's performance at the end. 

Earlier US data showed new home sales rose 6.2% in October to an annualized 685 thousand units, compared to a 14.2% surge in September to 645 thousand, while analysts expected a 6.1% drop to 627 thousand. 

Dow Jones rose 0.10%, or 22.79 points to 23,580.78, while Standard and Poor's 500 declined 0.04%, or one point to 2,601.42. NASDAQ Composite shed 0.15%, or 10.64 points to 6,878.52. 

Gold futures due on December 16 rose 0.55% to $1,298.90 an ounce from the opening of $1,291.80, while the dollar index added 0.13% to 92.91 from the opening of 92.78. 

Otherwise, US West Texas Intermediate tumbled 1.14% to $58.28 a barrel from the opening of $58.95, while Brent futures due on January 15 added 0.11% to $63.93 a barrel from the opening of $68.86.