Wall Street

percent. That’s the biggest increase since May.

The market jitters gave investors an opportunity to pocket some of their recent gains following a string of record highs fueled by strong corporate earnings.

“There’s not a fundamental reason why what we’re seeing out of North Korea right now should affect stock market prices, but it’s being used as the reason to sell off right now because we’ve been looking for it for so long,” Schiegoleit said.

“This really is a profit-taking sell-off. I don’t see it as a fear-driven sell-off.”

Technology stocks, the biggest gainers this year, led Thursday’s market slide.

Nvidia fell $7.37, or 4.3 percent, to $164.74, while Advanced Micro Devices gave up 71 cents, or 5.5 percent, to $12.12.

Several financial sector companies also helped pull down the market. Bank of New York Mellon slid $2.09, or 3.9 percent, to $51.95, while Citizens Financial Group shed $1.32, or 3.8 percent, to $33.71.

Disappointing quarterly results from big department store chains also weighed down the market.

Macy’s tumbled 10.2 percent after the company said its sales continued to decline in the second quarter. The stock lost $2.36 to $20.67. Dillard’s slumped 15.9 percent after the chain booked a loss for the second quarter as increased inventory led to big discounts. Its shares slid $11.64 to $61.70. Kohl’s also declined, giving up $2.43, or 5.8 percent, to $39.50.