On the data side, government data showed on Tuesday that the US trade deficit unexpectedly shrank in November with a decline in imports.
The Commerce Ministry's statistics office said the trade deficit shrank by 2 percent to $63.2 billion.
The trade figures were neutral in terms of the economy's growth rate of 4.9 percent in the third quarter.
Growth estimates for the fourth quarter currently stand at 2.5 percent year-on-year.
The government is scheduled to publish a summary of GDP growth for the October-December quarter later this month.
Market movements
The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell, down 27.25 points, or 0.57 percent, to 4,737.28 points by 15:05 GMT, and the Nasdaq Composite index fell 107.39 points, or 0.72 percent, to 14,735.27 points.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 300.56 points, or 0.80 percent, to 37,382.45 points.
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