Stocks close lower on Wall St., led by tech, banks

NEW YORK — Stocks fell for the second straight day Tuesday, giving up more of their recent gains as Wall Street shifts its focus on a busy week of corporate earnings reports.

The S&P 500 fell 0.7%. The benchmark index has now lost nearly all of its gain from last week. Apple fell 1.3% as part of a broad slide in technology companies.

Banks also accounted for a big share of the selling, which came as bond yields fell, reversing course after moving higher on Monday.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.56% from 1.60%. Bank of America dropped 2.8% and Citigroup slid 3.2%.

Investors turned defensive, favoring utilities, real estate stocks and a mix of companies that make consumer staples like food and household products. General Mills rose 1.6% and Clorox added 3%.

The market has been swaying between gains and record highs to pullbacks as investors weigh solid economic growth against the risks still posed by the virus pandemic. That push and pull will likely continue as vaccine distribution rolls on and various industries reopen.

“Overall, we’re going to have some volatility in the market this year, but everything to me looks fairly rosy for the next six months or so,” said Sylvia Jablonski, chief investment officer at Defiance ETFS.

The S&P 500 fell 28.32 points to 4,134.94. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 256.33 points, or 0.8%, to 33,821.30. Both the S&P 500 and Dow hit all-time highs on Friday. After shedding an early gain, the technology-heavy Nasdaq slid 128.50 points, or 0.9%, to 13,786.27.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks, which has been outpacing the broader market all year, took a heavier loss, shedding 43.79 points, or 2%, to 2,188.21.