Day mixed for U.S. stock indexes

NEW YORK — U.S. stock indexes were mixed Wednesday as energy companies skidded along with oil prices, but technology stocks rose and reversed a portion of their recent losses.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 3.53 points, or 0.15 percent, to 2,432.54. The Dow Jones industrial average slid 1.10 points to 21,478.17. Nasdaq composite rose 40.80 points, or 0.7 percent, to 6,150.86. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks sank 6.54 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,420.15.

After O’Reilly Automotive reported weak sales growth in the second quarter, the three biggest losers on the Standard & Poor’s 500 index were all auto parts companies. Carmakers slumped, too.

An eight-day rally in U.S. crude-oil prices ended with a thud, and energy companies took sharp losses. Retailers and small, domestically focused companies also struggled.

Technology companies bucked the trend and finished higher. Those companies have hit a wall in the past month. Banks, and industrial and health care companies also rose on another quiet day of trading after the Independence Day holiday.

Benchmark U.S. crude dropped $1.94, or 4.1 percent, to $45.13 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, sank $1.82, or 3.7 percent, to $47.79 a barrel in London. U.S. crude reached an annual low in late June and then jumped 11 percent over the next eight trading days.

Shares of Hess fell $2.06, or 4.5 percent, to $43.36, and Exxon Mobil shed $1.25, or 1.5 percent, to $80.85.

O’Reilly Automotive said sales were sluggish at its older locations over the past three months because of weak demand and the effects of a mild winter. Its stock lost $41.64, or 18.9 percent, to $178.77.

Shares of Advance Auto Parts fell $13.20, or 11.1 percent, to $105.21, and AutoZone slid $54.88, or 9.6 percent, to $516.83. Those three companies have each plunged more than 30 percent this year as investors worry about the effects of slowing car sales.

Tesla took its biggest loss in a year after as investors were disappointed with the company’s second-quarter production and delivery totals. The electric-car maker’s stock dropped $25.53, or 7.2 percent, to $327.09.

Elsewhere Ford shares declined 26 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $11.30, while General Motors sagged 56 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $35.01. Automakers had rallied Monday after they reported their monthly sales.

Payment processor Vantiv will buy the U.K.’s Worldpay for about $10 billion. Worldpay allows businesses to accept credit cards and online payments, and it released a statement Wednesday saying the companies agreed on the key terms of an acquisition. Vantiv stock retreated $1.49, or 2.4 percent, to $61.02. Payment technology companies Square and PayPal both climbed.

Monogram Residential, which owns and operates luxury apartment communities, climbed after it agreed to be bought by real estate company Greystar and a group of investors. The deal values Monogram at $12 a share, or about $2 billion. Monogram stock added $2.09, or 21.3 percent, to $11.89.

Bond prices edged higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dipped to 2.33 percent from 2.35 percent late Monday.

Gold rose $2.50 to $1,221.70 an ounce. Silver fell 20 cents to $15.90 an ounce. Copper lost 3 cents to $2.66 a pound.