U.S. stocks were mostly lower yesterday as U.S. lawmakers struggle to complete new fiscal stimulus before year-end. Investor sentiment also was hurt by weaker-than-expected U.S. jobless claims. In U.S. economic news, jobless claims jumped to 853,000 last week, reflecting increased layoffs amid surging the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) cases. Consumer prices rose 0.2 percent in November as an increase in energy costs offset a decline in food costs. Over the past 12 months, consumer inflation has risen only 1.2 percent. The U.S. dollar fell versus a basket of currencies as U.S. stimulus remained elusive. Gold fell slightly as a failure to significantly to the $1,850 per ounce level prompted technical selling. Futures declined 0.1 percent to $1,837.40 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil rose sharply on hopes of a faster fuel-demand recovery after the release of Covid-19 vaccines, but gains were limited by a huge rise in U.S. crude inventories that showed there still was ample supply available. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures added $1.26, or 2.8 percent, to $46.78 a barrel. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 69.55, or 0.2 percent, to 29,999.26. Twenty-one of the index's 30 components declined, led by Verizon Communications, which dropped 1.5 percent. IBM and UnitedHealth each lost 1.4 percent. Chevron led gainers, surging 3.2 percent. Travelers climbed 1.3 percent. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 4.72, or 0.1 percent, to 3,668.10. Industrials were the worst-performing sector, dropping nearly 1 percent. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 66.86, or 0.5 percent, to 12,405.81. Netflix gained 1.5 percent, and Apple climbed 1.2 percent. Google-parent Alphabet lost 0.6 percent, Facebook was 0.3 percent lower, and Amazon declined 0.1 percent.