Market report

Tech firms hit hard as stocks fall

A worker from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles cleans a Maserati GranTurismo MC displayed Tuesday in front of the New York Stock Exchange.
A worker from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles cleans a Maserati GranTurismo MC displayed Tuesday in front of the New York Stock Exchange.

Technology companies led a broad slide in U.S. stocks Tuesday in a day of mostly choppy trading.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 19.69 points, or 0.8 percent, to 2,419.38. The Dow Jones industrial average slid 98.89 points, or 0.5 percent, to 21,310.66. The Nasdaq composite lost 100.53 points, or 1.6 percent, to 6,146.62. The Russell 2000 of small-company stocks gave up 13.10 points, or 0.9 percent, to 1,403.54.

Bond prices fell. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 2.2 percent from 2.13 percent late Monday.

Phone and utility companies were among the big decliners after the sell-off in bonds sent yields sharply higher. Banks bucked the broader market decline amid heightened expectations of rising interest rates. Oil prices rose for the fourth-straight day.

Late-afternoon developments in Washington helped put investors in a selling mood. Republican leaders in the Senate decided to delay a vote on a health care overhaul bill until after the July 4 recess.

"The delay of the health care vote added to a little bit of the uneasiness going into the quarter end here," said Sean Lynch, co-head of global equity strategy at the Wells Fargo Investment Institute. "It's just worries that some of this political noise can complicate the chance of possible tax reform, health care reform and other policy measures that could boost the economy."

The bond sell-off was triggered early Tuesday as investors reacted to remarks from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, who expressed optimism over the future of the economy of the 19-country eurozone. And while Draghi did not say the European Central Bank was ready to rein in its stimulus measures, investors took his remarks as a hint that a change of policy could be coming in the next few months.

"The comments he made, that talked about deflation being nonexistent, were taken by the market pretty positively," Lynch said. "The worries of that six months ago were penalizing stocks and penalizing financials."

European stock markets closed lower as the euro surged after Draghi's remarks.

Germany's DAX fell 0.8 percent, while France's CAC 40 slid 0.7 percent. The FTSE 100 of leading British stocks shed 0.2 percent.

Technology companies were among the biggest decliners Tuesday.

Computer memory maker Seagate Technology gave up $2.88, or 6.8 percent, to $39.51, while semiconductor manufacturer Advanced Micro Devices slid 68 cents, or 4.8 percent, to $13.40. Netflix also fell, losing $6.47, or 4.1 percent, to $151.03.

Shares of Alphabet, Google's parent company, slid 2.5 percent after the European Union fined the online search giant $2.7 billion. The EU alleges that the company breached antitrust rules with its online shopping service. Alphabet said it is considering an appeal. Alphabet shares fell $24 to $948.09.

Oil and gas futures notched gains Tuesday.

Benchmark U.S. crude rose 86 cents, or 2 percent, to settle at $44.24 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international standard, added 82 cents, or 1.8 percent, to close at $46.65 per barrel in London.

Business on 06/28/2017

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