US stocks closed lower amid profit taking after Monday’s strong surge and a slip in consumer confidence.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 43.90 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 13,197.73, giving up only a bit more than a quarter of Monday’s 161-point jump.

The broad-market S&P 500 dropped 3.99 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 1,412.52, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite moved into the negative in the last 15 minutes to finish down 2.22 points, or 0.07 per cent, at 3,120.35.

A dip in the Conference Board’s US consumer confidence index, and the S&P-Case Shiller’s report that home prices continued to fall in January, cast a slight cloud over trade.

“The drop in overall confidence was due to increased concerns that the economic recovery may slow in the coming months. That could be the result of increasing media reports that gasoline will hit 5.00 dollars per gallon during the summer,” said Briefing.com.

But, it added, “Consumer spending trends follow income growth and not confidence indicators. Continued improvement in the labour sector will drive up consumption regardless of how confidence trends.”

Bank of America, down 3.3 per cent, and Verizon, off 1.7 per cent, led the losers of the Dow, while Pfizer topped gainers with a 1.5 per cent climb.

Shares of home builder Lennar picked up 5.0 per cent. The company as expected reported a sharp 45 per cent decline in profit year on year, but said revenues were up 30 per cent and orders for new homes rose 33 per cent.

“New sales orders in the first quarter were encouraging. We have seen the market stabilise, driven by a combination of low home prices and low interest rates, making the decision to purchase a new home more attractive,” chief executive Stuart Miller said in a statement.

On the Nasdaq, Apple, up 1.2 per cent, and Amazon, up 1.3 per cent, led the trading. Tuesday’s gain left Amazon up nearly 13 per cent since mid-March.

Adult education group Apollo dropped 8.5 per cent after Credit Suisse downgraded the company from outperform to neutral, citing worries that it will not be able to expand enrolment.

US bond prices rose. The interest on the ten year Treasury fell to 2.19 per cent from 2.24 per cent Monday, while the 30 year was at 3.30 per cent, down from 3.33 per cent.

Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.