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NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market edged lower Tuesday, breaking a six-day advance as reports on home prices and consumer confi- dence did little to excite buyers. Major indexes rose modestly in the early going but slipped as the dollar strengthened and tugged on commodities prices. A stronger dollar makes commodities more expensive for for- eign buyers. Trading was quiet, as it has been in recent days, and many investors left at the end of the day for a long New Year's weekend. The low volume held the Dow Jones industri- al average to a 36-point range, the narrowest in nearly three years. The modest losses came after stocks had risen for six straight days. Economic reports looked stronger but failed to galvanize investors. The Confer- ence Board said its index of consumer con- fidence rose to 52.9 in December from 49.5 in November. That was slightly better than economists had fore- cast. The index remains well below what is con- sidered healthy. A read- ing of 90 or more sig- nals a solid economy. However, the index has jumped from a historic low of 25.3 in February. Home prices also rose. The Standard & P o o r ' s / C a s e - S h i l l e r ' s home price index rose for a fifth straight month in October, edg- ing up 0.4 percent. The index was off 7.3 per- cent from October last year, roughly in line with expectations. Analysts said there were few surprises in the economic numbers to drive the market. "The reports we're seeing broadly reinforce the expectations we've had," said Jim Baird, partner and chief invest- ment strategist for Plante Moran Financial Advisors in Kalamazoo, Mich. "It's slow and steady; It's not explo- sive improvement." The Dow slipped 1.67, or less than 0.1 percent, to 10,545.41. The trading range was the tightest since Febru- ary 2007 and the fifth straight day when the index has swung by fewer than 70 points. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 1.58, or 0.1 percent, to 1,126.20, while the Nas- daq composite index fell 2.68, or 0.1 percent, to 2,288.40. Interest rates fell after a successful auc- tion of $42 billion of five-year notes. The Treasury Depart- ment is issuing $118 billion in debt this week as part of its efforts to fund its stimulus pro- grams. With so much debt flooding the mar- ket, there's been con- cern this year that demand would dimin- ish. Most auctions though have been able to attract decent demand. The yield on the 10- year Treasury note, which is used as a benchmark for con- sumer loans, fell to 3.80 percent from 3.85 per- cent late Monday. The dollar reversed an early slide and moved higher against other currencies. Oil rose 10 cents to settle at $78.87 per bar- rel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The stronger dollar held oil below $79. Gold fell. Tim Speiss, chairman of Personal Wealth Advisors practice at Eisner LLP in New York, said he expects to see the market build on its recent gains at the start of the new year and through the first quarter. "We're going to be building momentum," he said. Falling stocks nar- rowly outpaced those that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated vol- ume came to a light 2.6 billion shares, down from Monday's 2.8 bil- lion. In other trading, the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 0.57, or 0.1 percent, to 633.18. Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.7 per- cent, Germany's DAX index added 0.1 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.3 percent. 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