US STOCKS-Nasdaq supported by Apple as weak economic data weighs on Wall Street

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* Apple gains on electric car production plan
* Peloton jumps on $420 mln deal to buy peer Precor
* Amgen down as asthma drug late-stage trial fails
* Indexes: Dow down 0.40%, S&P falls 0.19%, Nasdaq up 0.13%

(Adds comment; updates share prices)
By Ambar Warrick and Devik Jain
Dec 22 (Reuters) - The Dow and the S&P 500 slipped on
Tuesday as concerns over a new variant of the coronavirus and
weak economic readings prompted investors to lock in recent
gains, while the Nasdaq was kept in positive territory by Apple.
U.S. home sales fell more than expected in November, while
consumer confidence unexpectedly declined this month following a
spike in U.S. infections and deaths.
The data added to concerns of further economic disruption
from a new coronavirus variant raging in Britain that has pushed
the country into effective COVID-19 quarantine.
"You could point to consumer confidence, existing home sales
being a little weaker today, but I think it's broader than that.
The market's a bit overpriced, it's looking for a reason to back
off," said Kenny Polcari, managing partner at Kace Capital
Advisors.
Losses on the technology-heavy Nasdaq .IXIC were limited
by Apple Inc AAPL.O . The index also briefly hit a record high.
Apple rose 2.5% after Reuters exclusively reported that the
company was planning a push into vehicle and battery production.
"If the second strain of the coronavirus starts to impact
countries again, then that whole work from home trend is going
to pick up steam and that's what's going on in technology
today," Polcari added.
The S&P 500 technology subsector .SPLRCT was the sole
gainer among its peers, touching a record high. The sector has
vastly outperformed this year thanks to tech's perceived
resilience to virus-related disruptions.
At 12:06 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was down 121.70 points, or 0.40%, at 30,094.75, the S&P 500
.SPX was down 6.97 points, or 0.19%, at 3,687.95, and the
Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up 16.49 points, or 0.13%, at
12,759.01.
All three major indexes had hit record highs last week in
anticipation of a coronavirus stimulus bill. But they were off
to a rough start this week after the discovery of the new virus
variant, as well as some disappointment over the size of the aid
bill approved by Congress.
Still, the indexes were set for strong annual gains, as an
initial slump due to the coronavirus was followed by one of the
fastest ever recoveries from a bear market by the S&P 500.
Electric-car maker Tesla Inc TSLA.O fell 3.4%, adding to a
more than 6% slump in its first day of trading as part of the
S&P 500 .SPX on Monday. Amgen Inc AMGN.O fell 2.3% and was among the top drags on
the Dow, after it said its experimental asthma drug failed to
meet the main goal of a late-stage study. Peloton Interactive Inc PTON.O jumped nearly 20% after the
exercise bike maker said it would buy peer Precor in a $420
million deal. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.17-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE, and by a 1.06-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 19 new 52-week highs and no new lows,
while the Nasdaq recorded 278 new highs and seven new lows.