S&P 500 notches fifth straight loss

A turbulent day of trading on Wall Street ended Wednesday with a fifth consecutive loss for the benchmark S&P 500 index.

An early rally drove major indexes sharply higher but was gone by midday, leaving the market headed lower for the rest of the day. The Dow Jones industrial average swung from a high of 214 points to a low of 350 before the sell-off eased somewhat by late afternoon.

Technology companies, banks and insurers fared the worst, their losses outweighing gains in other sectors.

Bond prices rose as traders shifted money into lowrisk assets. That pulled yields down, which hurts banks by driving interest rates on loans lower. Energy stocks rebounded as crude oil prices snapped a 12-day losing streak. Precious metals also rose.

“We're still contending with the implications of the sell-off from October,” said David Lefkowitz, senior equity strategist at UBS Global Wealth Management. “The market is still somewhat unsettled and somewhat volatile as investors digest that move and reposition for what they think will happen next.”

The S&P 500 index fell 20.60 points, or 0.8%, to 2,701.58. The Dow lost 205.99 points, or 0.8%, to 25,080.50. The Nasdaq composite dropped 64.48 points, or 0.9%, to 7,136.39. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies gave up 12.30 points, or 0.8%, to 1,502.51.

The latest losses placed the indexes on track to finish the month with a loss.

Bond prices, which had been declining, also began climbing as traders favored safe assets. That sent the yield on the 10-year Treasury note down to 3.12% from 3.14% late Tuesday.

The drop in bond yields, which affect interest rates on mortgages and other consumer loans, helped pull bank shares lower. Citizens Financial Group dropped 3.9% to $36.21.

The price of U.S. crude oil closed higher, ending a 12day skid. The rebound came a day after U.S. crude oil had its steepest drop in more than three years. U.S. crude oil gained 1% to $56.25 a barrel. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 1% to $66.12 a barrel.

Forecasts for a cold snap across much of the Northeast and South helped push the price of natural gas sharply higher. It soared 17.9% to $4.84 per 1,000 cubic feet.

The tech sector took some of the heaviest losses. Apple fell 2.8% to $186.80.

Pacific Gas & Electric had its steepest drop since 2002, sinking 21.8% to $25.59 because of worries about its liability for California wildfires.

The price of gold gained 0.7% to $1,210.10 an ounce. Silver also rose 0.7% to $14.08 an ounce. Copper added 0.9% to $2.71 a pound.