New York, Jun 12 (IANS): US equities erased their earlier gains and closed slightly lower as Wall Street digested a slew of economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 14.17 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 26,048.51 on Tuesday. The S&P 500 was down 1.01 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 2,885.72. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 0.60 point, or 0.01 per cent, to 7,822.57, Xinhua reported.

Of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors, industrials and utilities struggled while consumer discretionary and communication services outperformed.

Shares of the US aircraft manufacturing giant United Technologies Corporation declined 3.96 per cent at the close, the worst-performer in the Dow.

Meanwhile, shares of both Caterpillar and Cisco Systems climbed 1.22 per cent, leading the gainers in the 30-stock index.

On the economic front, the seasonally adjusted producer price index for final demand edged up 0.1 per cent in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday. Final demand prices advanced 0.2 per cent in April and 0.6 per cent in March.

US small business optimism rose 1.5 points to 105.0 in May, the National Federation of Independent Business said Tuesday. Economists surveyed by Econoday had forecast a 102.0 reading.