Stocks fall after Kabul bombing; traders also wait for Fed

Technology and communication companies led a broad sell-off on Wall Street Thursday following deadly suicide attacks at the Kabul airport in Afghanistan.

The S&P 500 fell 0.6 percent a day after capping a five-day winning streak with an all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5 percent, while the Nasdaq composite lost 0.6 percent. Despite the losses, the three major indexes are on track for weekly gains.

Twin suicide bombings struck Thursday outside Kabul’s airport, where large crowds of people trying to flee Afghanistan have massed. At least 60 Afghans and 12 U.S. troops were killed, according to Afghan and U.S. officials. Scores of other people were wounded. The airport had been the focus of NATO evacuations from the country after the Taliban took over last week.

The declines were widespread, with 10 of the 11 sectors in the S&P 500 closing lower. Technology stocks, communication services providers and a mix of companies that rely on consumer spending accounted for much of the pullback. Banks and energy stocks also weighed on the index. Only real estate stocks closed higher.

The S&P 500 fell 26.19 points to 4,470, while the Dow dropped 192.38 points to 35,213.12. The Nasdaq lost 96.05 points to 14,945.81. The tech-heavy index closed above 15,000 points for the first time a day earlier.

Small company stocks shouldered some of the heaviest selling. The Russell 2000 index slid 25.29 points, or 1.1 percent, to 2,213.98.