Stocks edge down from record highs

U. S. stocks closed slightly lower Wednesday, with the market giving back some of its gains the day after the Standard & Poor’s 500 index and Nasdaq composite hit record highs.

Energy stocks led the drop as crude oil prices fell after a three- day rally. Communications companies also helped pull down the market, offsetting gains in real estate and other sectors. Bond prices rose.

Stocks wavered between small gains and losses much of the day as investors waded through earnings reports. Analysts have been expecting a contraction in first- quarter corporate profits, but the results so far have been mostly solid.

That trend continued Wednesday with strong reports from e- commerce company EBay, industrial giant Caterpillar and health insurer Anthem.

The S& P 500 index fell 6.43 points, or 0.2%, to 2,927.25. It had closed at a record high Tuesday. The Nasdaq composite, also coming off a record- high close, fell 18.81 points, or 0.2%, to 8,102.01. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 59.34 points, or 0.2%, to 26,597.05.

Small- company stocks fared better than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 index rose 3.04 points, or 0.2%, to 1,588.13.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10- year Treasury note fell to 2.52% from 2.57%.

The stock market mounted a strong recovery this year after f inishing 2018 in a steep slump fueled by fears of recession, an escalating U. S.- China trade war and concern that the Federal Reserve was moving too aggressively to raise interest rates.

Those worries have been mostly quelled this year amid greater confidence in the economy and reassurances that the Fed is unlikely to raise interest rates this year.

Traders have also been more confident in the prospects for corporate earnings growth as companies have begun reporting solid first- quarter results.

About one-fourth of S& P 500 companies have issued their first-quarter report cards, with overall earnings growth so far of 2.4%. Still, analysts forecast earnings will be down 3% by the time all S& P 500 companies deliver results. That would be the first decline since spring 2016.

Energy stocks fell more than the 10 other S& P 500 sectors, losing 1.9%. National Oilwell Varco led the way down, shedding 5.1%.

The slide came as the price of U.S. crude oil snapped a three- day winning streak. Benchmark U.S. crude fell 0.6% to $65.89 a barrel. Oil had been climbing recently since dropping below $ 43 a barrel in late December. Brent crude rose 0.1% to $ 74.57 a barrel.

The latest earnings reports included some disappointing results, which weighed on stocks. AT& T dropped 4.1% after the telecom giant’ s first-quarter revenue fell short of forecasts. IRobot plunged 23.1% after its revenue fell short of Wall Street forecasts.

Gold rose 0.5% to $ 1,279.40 an ounce. Silver rose 0.8% to $ 14.92 an ounce. Copper rose 0.6% to $ 2.91 a pound.