Wall Street lower, losses spread across sectors

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell on Thursday, snapping several sessions of limited action as investors closed out positions awaiting Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech on Friday for fresh trading incentives.

All 10 S&P sectors were lower, and there was little difference in the decline of cyclical groups, which have closer correlations to the pace of economic growth, and defensive names that tend to outperform in times of uncertainty.

Energy <.GSPE> fell 0.7 percent while healthcare <.GSPA> lost 0.6 percent. Consumer discretionary names <.GSPD> were off 0.1 percent while consumer staples <.GSPS> slid 0.2 percent.

"People are taking money off the table ahead of the Fed meeting, but this isn't a panic move as seen by all sectors being impacted about the same," said Jerry Harris, president of asset management at Sterne Agee in Birmingham, Alabama. "I wouldn't call this a run from risky assets. We were overdue for some profit taking."

In Bernanke's speech before central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, he is expected to stoke expectations for a third round of quantitative easing, though he may not detail the timing of the Fed's action.

Daily trading volume, which has been at 2012 lows this week in a reflection of investors' reluctance to place big bets before Bernanke's speech, could weigh on profits at exchanges and brokers.

The S&P has hardly moved over the past three days and hasn't closed with a 1 percent move in either direction since August 3. Equities even had little reaction to the latest economic data, which showed weekly jobless claims unexpectedly holding, dashing hopes for a slight tick down.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 63.26 points, or 0.48 percent, at 13,044.22. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 7.25 points, or 0.51 percent, at 1,403.24. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 16.34 points, or 0.53 percent, at 3,064.85.

The index has been pinned in a fairly tight range over the last three weeks, finding support at 1,400 while also unable to convincingly pierce the April high of 1,422.38, which has acted as a resistance point.

Pandora Media Inc surged 20 percent to $12.09 a day after reporting adjusted second-quarter earnings that beat expectations and raising its full-year outlook.

Citigroup Inc agreed to pay $590 million to settle a shareholder lawsuit accusing it of hiding tens of billions of dollars of toxic mortgage assets. Shares edged 0.5 percent lower.

S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC said it will replace retailer Sears Holdings Corp with chemical maker LyondellBasell Industries NV in the S&P 500 after the close of trading on September 4. Sears dropped 7.3 percent to $53.27 while LyondellBasell gained 4 percent to $48.77.

European shares <.FTEU3> fell 0.4 percent with investors reluctant to increase their exposure to riskier assets ahead of the Fed meeting. Japanese stocks <.N225> fell almost 1 percent to a two-week closing low.

In other economic data, consumer spending rose by the most in five months, offering hope economic growth could pick up this quarter.

(Editing by Dave Zimmerman)

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