Wall St. turns lower in 2015's first day of trading

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks edged lower on Friday, erasing earlier gains as investors found few reasons to buy in the new year as crude oil prices continued to weaken and data came in below forecasts.

Markets had opened higher in a broad rally, but indexes lost ground throughout the session. Seven of the ten primary S&P 500 sectors were lower on the day, with defensive groups - including telecom <.SPLRCL> and utilities <.SPLRCU> - among the few industries in positive territory.

Wall Street ended 2014 with solid gains for the year and fourth quarter. Still, the market has had an upward bias since mid-December, with the S&P rising in seven of the past 10 sessions.

The benchmark index is about 1 percent away from its record close, and as market participants use the new year as an opportunity to adjust positions, they will be questioning whether current levels are justified.

"I'd be a lot more comfortable if the market was, say, 20 percent lower," said Joshua Brown, vice president of investments at Fusion Analytics in New York.

In a sign of tepid economic conditions, construction spending unexpectedly fell in November by 0.3 percent, while the pace of growth in the U.S. manufacturing sector slipped to a six-month low in December, according to the Institute for Supply Management.

Energy shares <.SPNY> fell 0.5 percent alongside a drop in the price of crude oil. Crude lost 0.5 percent in a volatile session that saw it move between gains of 3.5 percent and losses of 2.3 percent, as a supply glut outweighed investor positioning at the start of the new year for a possible recovery.

Marathon Oil fell 0.6 percent to $28.12 while Newfield Exploration sank 2.3 percent to $26.49. Crude is set for its 13th negative week out of the past 14, and is at levels not seen since 2009.

For the week, the Dow is down 1.3 percent, the S&P off 1.7 percent and the Nasdaq off 2 percent.

On Thursday, when the stock market was closed for the New Year's holiday, General Motors Co announced three new vehicle recalls, the biggest involving the ignition-switch design of several SUV and pickup truck models. Shares fell 1 percent to $34.53.

At 11:07 a.m. the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 7.36 points, or 0.04 percent, to 17,815.71, the S&P 500 <.SPX> lost 6.02 points, or 0.29 percent, to 2,052.88 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> dropped 26.71 points, or 0.56 percent, to 4,709.35.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 1,762 to 1,179, for a 1.49-to-1 ratio; on the Nasdaq, 1,742 issues fell and 807 advanced for a 2.16-to-1 ratio.

The benchmark S&P 500 index was posting 9 new 52-week highs and 6 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite was recording 43 new highs and 13 new lows.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)

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