Banks, tech stocks send market to slight loss

Stocks closed modestly lower on Wall Street on Wednesday, handing the market its second straight loss.

Banks and technology companies accounted for much of the slide as investors shifted money into U.S. bonds, precious metals and other holdings considered safe havens after more than a week of aggressive buying.

Energy stocks took the heaviest losses following a 4% drop in the price of U.S. crude oil. That helped outweigh gains in health care, utilities and elsewhere in the market.

The latest decline followed a broad drop in stocks that ended a fiveday winning streak for the market. The Federal Reserve set off last week’s rally when it signaled that it is willing to cut interest rates to help stabilize the economy if the U.S. trade war with China starts to crimp growth.

Investors are worried that the dispute will drag on much longer than previously expected, weighing on economic growth and corporate profits. That has traders looking ahead to next week’s Fed meeting.

“There are concerns about whether or not the Fed next week at its meeting is going to in fact continue to move its stance toward lowering rates,” said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial. “The increasing concern is that the global economy continues to slow and that the slowdown is affecting the United States, as well.”

Technology companies accounted for much of the market’s slide. The sector has been under the most pressure from swings in sentiment over the trade dispute between the U.S. and China. Cisco Systems fell 2.2% and Micron Technology dropped 5.4%.