By Yashaswini Swamynathan
REUTERS - U.S. stocks were little changed on Tuesday, as gains in telecom services were offset by losses in energy stocks following a drop in oil prices.
Brent crude prices fell over 2 percent, the first decline in five days, after data showed an increase in output from major producers, just days after OPEC and Russia agreed to a production cut.
The S&P 500 energy sector fell 0.64 percent, weighed down by Exxon and Chevron. Oil prices had risen more than 18 percent since last Wednesday when the producers reached an agreement to limit output.
Investors are now shifting their focus to the Federal Reserve policy meeting next week, where traders see a 92 percent chance of an interest rate hike.
U.S. stocks have climbed since the Nov. 8 election, driven by expectations of significant economic stimulus and cuts in corporate taxes and regulations under President-elect Donald Trump.
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However, the rally has split, with the Dow marking a series of record highs on gains in industrials and bank stocks, while sectors such as utilities and technology have held back the S&P and the Nasdaq.
"You've got a lot of overbought individual components, especially in a rising rate environment, so any bad news, including Trump tweeting on Boeing, is going to have a big impact on the market," said Phil Davis, chief executive of PSW Investments.
"It's such a narrow rally, with such a small amount of support that it might unwind in a very ugly way."
Six of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were higher, led by a 1.52 percent rise in the telecom services index due to gains in AT&T and Verizon.
Energy was the biggest drag, while technology and financials were flat.
At 11:09 a.m. ET (1609 GMT) the Dow Jones industrial average was down 14.89 points, or 0.08 percent, at 19,201.35.
The S&P 500 was up 0.27 points, or 0.01 percent, at 2,204.98 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 2.13 points, or 0.04 percent, at 5,311.02.
Boeing's shares edged down 0.7 percent to $151.08, after Trump tweeted that costs of the 747 Air Force One aircraft were "out of control" and that the order should be canceled.
Nike fell 2.9 percent to $50.34 after Cowen & Co downgraded the shoemaker's stock to "market perform" and cut price target. The stock was the biggest drag on the Dow.
AT&T rose 1.7 percent to $39 after CEO Randall Stephenson told investors that the new streaming television service DirectTV Now has so far exceeded expectations.
Verizon rose 1.5 percent to $50.52 after striking a deal with Equinix to sell 29 data centers for $3.6 billion.
Intralinks soared 15.4 percent to $13.01 after Synchronoss Technologies said it would buy the cloud-based business software provider for $821 million, representing a 15.4 percent premium. Shares of Synchronoss, which provided a disappointing fourth-quarter revenue forecast, fell 10.2 percent.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,595 to 1,168. On the Nasdaq, 1,342 issues rose and 1,282 fell.
The S&P 500 index showed 21 new 52-week highs and three new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 143 new highs and 13 new lows.
(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)