US Stocks end lower (ext.CNN)

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks ended lower Tuesday, after the S&P 500 briefly rose above its highest closing level in four years.

The Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were fell between 0.3% and 0.5%.

Traders said the market was ripe for a pullback after the S&P 500 rose to a high of 1,426, surpassing its May 15, 2008, close of 1,423.

"The market was overbought," said Peter Boockvar, chief market strategist with Miller Tabak & Co. "We've been going up every single day."

All three indexes are trading around the highest levels in four years, but the volume of shares being bought and sold has been exceptionally low.

Meanwhile, investors are also keeping tabs on the Federal Reserve.

The central bank will release minutes from its July meeting Wednesday afternoon. While the Fed didn't announce any further stimulus measures at its latest meeting, investors will look for clues about whether quantitative easing could be coming when chairman Ben Bernanke speaks at the Jackson Hole, Wyo., symposium at the end of the month.

The market has been supported by a "central bank put," said Boockvar, which has caused investors to overlook a deteriorating outlook for economic and earnings growth.

As the second-quarter earnings season draws to a close, analysts at S&P Capital IQ are predicting an overall earnings growth rate of 0.86% for the companies in the S&P 500. That would be the lowest growth rate since the third-quarter of 2009.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar edged lower against the euro, the British pound and the Japanese yen.

Oil for September delivery rose 71 cents to end at $96.68 a barrel.

Gold futures for December delivery rose $19.90 to settle at $1,642.90 an ounce.