US stocks edge lower, shed some gains from 3-day rally

Associated Press

Financial companies led a modest slide by stocks on Wall Street this afternoon as a mixed batch of company earnings and declining bond yields weighed on the market.

The selling was widespread and had the market on track to snap a three-day winning streak for the S&P 500.

Banks bore the brunt of the decline as investors reacted to lower yields. The 10-year Treasury note slipped to 1.55 percent from 1.59 percent late Monday. When bond yields fall, it pulls down the interest rates that banks pocket on mortgages and other consumer loans. Bank of America dropped 1.8 percent.

Technology stocks, which like banks have tended to lead the market's gains recently, gave up an early gain. Western Digital dropped 3.6 percent. Still, some chipmakers continued to rise on news Monday that the U.S. gave Chinese telecom giant an extension to buy more supplies from U.S. companies. Qualcomm added 1.8 percent.

Household goods makers and communication services stocks were among the decliners. Energy stocks also fell.

Some big retailers, homebuilders and restaurant chains bucked the trend, notching gains. Lowe's rose 3.3 percent and homebuilder Lennar gained 2.1 percent.

Home Depot climbed after the home improvement retailer reported earnings that topped Wall Street's forecasts. But two other big retailers didn't fare as well. Investors sent Kohl's and TJX lower after their latest quarterly report cards fell short of analysts' expectations.

The market was coming off a three-day winning streak, the latest twist for stocks, which have been caught in the grips of volatile trading all month.

The S&P 500 was down 0.6 percent as of 2:52 p.m. Eastern Time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 102.5 points, or 0.4 percent, to 26,027. The Nasdaq, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, dropped 0.5 percent.