Stocks end mixed as tech drops

U.S. stock indexes found their footing after a sharp early loss Monday and finished mixed. Technology companies sank for the third day in a row.

Stocks slumped in morning trading after posting big declines late last week. Some of the largest losses went to tech firms, including payment and credit card companies. Indexes in Europe also dropped as Italy vowed to ramp up spending that will increase its deficit.

A sharp increase in bond yields last week had startled investors and prompted them to shift money out of stocks. Bond markets in the United States were closed for the Columbus Day holiday, and stock trading was relatively light.

Banks, whose shares often rise along with interest rates, continued their advance. High-dividend companies, which tend to fall when yields go up, recovered some of their losses from last week.

Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist for Invesco, said tech firms have dropped because investors worry that they are vulnerable as the Trump administration wraps up trade negotiations with Mexico, Canada and South Korea and zeroes in on China.

“The U.S. has made very significant concessions [to those countries], and I expect them to do that with Japan as well,” she said. “The ultimate goal is to bring China to its knees.”

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index slipped 1.14 points to 2,884.43. The Dow Jones industrial average reversed an early loss of 223 points and ended with a gain of 39.73 points, or 0.2%, to 26,486.78.

The Nasdaq composite slid 52.50 points, or 0.7%, to 7,735.95. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks slipped 2.60 points, or 0.2%, to 1,629.52. The Nasdaq and Russell are both coming off their worst week since late March.

Among payment technology companies, PayPal slid 3.2% to $80.55 and Mastercard fell 2.3% to $208.26. Elsewhere, Microsoft fell 1.1% to $110.85.

Invesco’s Hooper said technology companies have been returning big profits this year, so investors have been slow to recognize the harm that could come from the trade spat.

“Tech is not going to be unscathed in a trade war,” she said.

With bond markets in the U.S. closed, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, an important benchmark for mortgages and other types of long-term loans, stayed at 3.22%. That’s its highest in more than seven years, and it’s helping bank stocks.

Shares of real estate investment trust Crown Castle International climbed 1.4% to $110.27, and CocaCola rose 1.3% to $46.48.

Benchmark U.S. crude slipped 0.1% to $74.29 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell 0.3% to $83.91 a barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline rose 0.4% to $2.09 a gallon. Heating oil inched up 0.1% to $2.39 a gallon. Natural gas jumped 3.9% to $3.27 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold fell 1.4% to $1,188.60 an ounce. Silver fell 2.2% to $14.33 an ounce. Copper rose 0.1% to $2.77 a pound.