NEW YORK, Nov 21 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks dipped on Tuesday and benchmark Treasury yields edged lower as there were few market moving catalysts to keep the multi-session rally afoot.
All three major U.S. stock indexes were lower, with the tech-laden Nasdaq down the most as investors await chipmaker Nvidia Corp's results after the closing bell.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq appeared set to snap their five-day winning streaks.
"We’ve had so many good days I wouldn’t be surprised if people were looking to lighten up ahead of the (Thanksgiving) holiday," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist of CFRA Research in New York.
Later in the session, the Federal Reserve is expected to release the minutes of its most recent meeting at which the central bank let its key Fed funds target rate stand at 5.25%-5.50%.
"On days before holidays there’s often not a lot occurring. And the only thing people have to talk about today is the Fed minutes," Stovall said.
"The majority thinks the Fed is done raising rates," Stovall added. "The question is how long will they keep rates elevated?"
The minutes will be scrutinized for signs regarding the possible need for further rake hikes and the timing of potential rate cuts.
On the economic front, existing home sales tumbled to their lowest level in more than 13 years as rising mortgage rates and low inventories kept potential homebuyers on the sidelines.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 82.46 points, or 0.23%, to 35,068.58, the S&P 500 lost 12.38 points, or 0.27%, to 4,535 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 102.03 points, or 0.71%, to 14,182.51.
European stocks were muted as weakness in telecom and energy stocks offset gains in materials as market participants focused on the soon-to-be-released Fed minutes.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index lost 0.09% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.16%.
Emerging market stocks rose 0.31%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 0.49% higher, while Japan's Nikkei lost 0.10%.
Treasury yields edged lower ahead of the Fed minutes amid growing concerns over economic slowdown and possible recession.
Benchmark 10-year notes last rose 7/32 in price to yield 4.3945%, from 4.422% late on Monday.
The 30-year bond last rose 9/32 in price to yield 4.5577%, from 4.575% late on Monday.
The greenback was essentially unchanged against a basket of world currencies on growing expectations that the central bank will start cutting rates in early 2024.
The dollar index rose 0.02%, with the euro down 0.11% to $1.0926.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.39% versus the greenback at 147.83 per dollar, while sterling was last trading at $1.2538, up 0.27% on the day.
Crude prices slipped as investors turned cautious ahead of Sunday's scheduled OPEC+ meeting, in which the producer group could discuss deepening supply cuts due to a global economic slowdown.
U.S. crude fell 0.67% to $77.31 per barrel and Brent was last at $82.03, down 0.35% on the day.
Gold surged to a two-week high on expectations that the Fed has reached the end of its tightening cycle.
Spot gold added 1.2% to $2,001.65 an ounce.
(Reporting by Stephen Culp; Additional reporting by Samuel Indyk and Ankur Banerjee in London; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
