U.S. Stocks Turn Negative; Dow Struggles To Hold 18,000

U.S. stocks are no longer on track to wrap up a strong year in an upbeat way, as the Dow industrials and S&P 500 both turned modestly negative in early-afternoon action. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was last down 27 points, or 0.2%, to 17,956 after being up as much as 60 points earlier in the session. The blue-chip gauge is also back below 18,000 after clambering above that big round number at the open. The S&P 500 was last down 5 points, or 0.2%, to 2,075. The Dow is on pace for a yearly advance of 8.3%, while the S&P is up 12.3%. Read a full story here.