New York's three main stock indexes ended lower for a third straight session. With no news likely to move the market, investors focused on selling ahead of the year's final trading day.

Near the close on Dec. 30, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 94.87 points, or 0.20 percent, at 48,367.06 on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

The S&P 500 fell 9.50 points, or 0.14 percent, to 6,896.24, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 55.27 points, or 0.24 percent, to close at 23,419.08.

The market has posted declines for three straight sessions through Tuesday, leaving 1 trading day in the year. That follows a stretch in which stock indexes rose for 5 consecutive sessions before losing momentum.

The market mood has tilted toward some profit-taking and position-squaring rather than expectations for a year-end rally. With major stock indexes up for a third straight year through this year, that is dampening expectations for the new year.

Minutes released on Tuesday from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in December showed differences among members over the pace of interest rate cuts.

The minutes included the sentence: "Regarding the extent and timing of additional adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate, some participants suggested that, under their economic outlook, it would be appropriate to hold the target range unchanged for some time after the cut at this meeting."

The minutes also said that while "most" participants supported cutting rates, "some" participants preferred holding them steady.

Among megacap technology companies with market capitalisations of $1 trillion or more, only Tesla fell, down 1.13 percent, while the rest were little changed.