Stocks fall again in wild day of trading

They erased nearly all of a rally from a day earlier as technology shares once again led the way lower.

Stocks gave up an early gain and moved steadily lower all day, erasing nearly all of a rally from a day earlier and extending their losses for the week.

The S&P 500 gave up 1.8% Thursday. Technology shares once again led the way lower, and the Nasdaq fell 2%. The slide follows a wild stretch where the S&P 500 careened from its worst three-day slump since June to its best day in nearly three months.

Tech stocks have been at the center of the market’s swings, hurt by criticism that their recession-defying surge in recent months was overdone. The Nasdaq, which is full of tech stocks, is down over 10% since last week.

The market will likely lack any solid direction for the next few months as investors weigh several key issues, said Rod von Lipsey, managing director at UBS Private Wealth Management.

“Two things everybody is waiting for: Who is going to win the election, and are we going to find a vaccine for the virus?” he said. “Those two questions are impossible for us to answer in this particular quarter.”

He said big investors are either waiting on the sidelines or in a neutral position on expectations that markets will stay volatile through the uncertainty.

“We’re not all sure where the economy is going to head from here,” he said.

The selling comes as the odds grow longer that Congress will be able to deliver more aid to the economy before November’s elections, support that many investors say is crucial after federal unemployment benefits and other stimulus expired. Partisan disagreements on Capitol Hill have kept Congress at an impasse.