U.S. stock indexes end choppy day of trading slightly lower
U.S. stock indexes struggled to find direction Wednesday, ending the choppy day of trading with a loss for the second straight day.
The latest market decline was modest compared with the previous day’s steep drop, but both were largely driven by a sell-off in technology stocks. Energy stocks fell in tandem with crude oil prices.
Those losses outweighed gains by drugstore chains, health care companies and other stocks.
Despite a crop of strong company earnings and market-boosting corporate deal news, traders continued to wrestle with the potential implications of negative headlines swirling around several big-name stocks, including Amazon, Facebook and Tesla.
The benchmark S&P 500 index lost 7.62 points, or 0.3 percent, at 2,605. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 9.29 points, or 0.04 percent, to 23,848.42. The Nasdaq composite slid 59.58 points, or 0.8 percent, to 6,949.23. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks lost 0.54 points, or 0.04 percent, to 1,513.03. More stocks rose than fell on the New York Stock Exchange.
Bond prices were little changed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury held at 2.78 percent.
The major stock indexes wobbled between gains and losses for much of the day as investors weighed the latest developments with some of the market’s biggest names.
Facebook, which has taken a beating in recent days over privacy concerns, reflected the broader movement of the market, dipping into the red at times before eking out a small gain. The social media giant said early Wednesday it would give its privacy tools a makeover. The move is a response to criticisms over its data practices and the prospect of tighter European regulations in the coming months. The stock gained 81 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $153.03.
Investors also fretted about Amazon after Axios, citing anonymous sources, reported Wednesday that President Donald Trump has wondered aloud if there was a way to “go after” Amazon with antitrust or competition law.
Amazon has long been a target of Trump, who has tweeted in the past that the online retailer didn’t pay enough taxes or needed to pay the U.S. post office more for handling shipments. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos also personally owns The Washington Post, which Trump has labeled “fake news” when unfavorable stories are written about him or his administration. Shares in the e-commerce giant fell $65.63, or 4.4 percent, to $1,431.42.
Walgreens gained 2.5 percent after the largest U.S. drugstore chain reported quarterly earnings and revenue that came in ahead of analysts’ forecasts. The stock rose $1.63 to $67.59. Investors also bid up shares in CVS Health, which climbed $2.11, or 3.5 percent, to $62.71.
Benchmark U.S. crude lost 87 cents, or 1.3 percent, to settle at $64.38 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell 58 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $69.53 per barrel in London.
The slide in oil prices weighed on energy sector stocks. Occidental Petroleum gave up $2.67, or 4.1 percent, to $63.15.
In other energy futures trading, heating oil dropped 1 cent to $2.01 a gallon. Wholesale gasoline was little changed at $2.01 a gallon. Natural gas dropped 2 cents to $2.70 per 1,000 cubic feet.