NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks were little changed early Tuesday as markets consolidate gains near the end of a highly lucrative November for equities.

The S&P 500 is up more than eight percent so far in the month, benefiting from US economic data that has shown slowing growth and lifted expectations that the Federal Reserve will not hike interest rates further.

Tuesday’s early weakness was not driven by specific news events, according to Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.

Wall St mixed as investors await policy cues

“Rather, it appears to be a case of buyer exhaustion following four straight weeks of gains,” O’Hare said.

About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat at 35,336.75.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent to 4,543.33, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.2 percent to 14,211.15.

Markets will get a reading of US consumer health later Tuesday through the Conference Board survey on consumer confidence and the National Retail Federation’s update on holiday sales.