Stocks slip on Wall Street

A wobbly day of trading on Wall Street left stocks slightly lower Tuesday, pulling the market back from the all-time highs it reached a day earlier.

The S&P 500 snapped a three-day winning streak, slipping 0.1% after wavering between small gains and losses much of the afternoon. Stocks within the benchmark index were nearly evenly split between gainers and losers. Technology and health care stocks accounted for much of the decline.

Financial stocks fell as bond yields eased. That countered broader gains from companies that are depending on continued economic growth to recover. Oil prices rose.

Much of the gyrations within the market lately are occurring as Wall Street assesses the health and speed of the economic recovery.

There’s been strong support for many of the sectors and companies beaten down by the pandemic as vaccine distribution helps businesses reopen, while government stimulus helps shore up businesses in the interim. Even as that shift occurs, technology and other stocks that benefitted from the shutdowns still look fundamentally strong, said Jeff Buchbinder, equity strategist at LPL Financial.

“We’re seeing this battle play out here in markets every day,” he said. “That’s going to drive some churn.”

The S&P 500 lost 3.97 points to 4,073.94. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 96.95 points, or 0.3%, to 33,430.24. Both indexes set all-time highs Monday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite slipped 7.21 points, or 0.1%, to 13,698.38.