US stocks fall in light trading

US stocks fell on Friday in light trading, led by tech sector as Apple fell another 4 percent and investors remained cautious on looming "fiscal cliff" . At the close, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 35.71 points, or 0.27 percent, at 13,135.01. The Standard & Poor's 500 was down 5.87 points, or 0.41 percent, to 1,413.58. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 20.83 points, or 0.70 percent, to 2,971.33. The trading volume were very light on Friday as investors pulled money out ahead of the weekend. Markets were still closely watching on the "fiscal cliff" talks in Washington. President Barack Obama and Republican House Speaker John Boehner met at the White House late Thursday to discuss how to resolve the looming economic problems. But the lack of progress in such negotiations heavily weighed and pushed down stocks. Tech sector was dragged down as Apple fell 3.90 percent after UBS cut its target price on the tech giant, citing signs that the iPhone's production rate is declining. On the economic front, the Federal Reserve said manufacturing output rose 1.1 percent in November, the biggest gain since December 2011 and a rebound after the gauge fell in the prior month. Although upbeat, the data failed to boost the stocks. The Labor Department said on Friday its Consumer Price Index dropped 0.3 percent last month as a sharp decline in gasoline prices offset increases in other areas. It was also the largest drop since May and followed a 0.1 percent gain in October. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.1 percent after increasing 0.2 percent in October.