Major U.S. stock indexes veer broadly lower in choppy trading

A day of choppy trading on Wall Street ended Monday with stocks broadly lower as the market extended its losing streak into a fourth week.

Technology stocks, consumer goods makers, health care companies and banks accounted for much of the selling, which accelerated in the last hour of trading, erasing modest gains from midday. Communication services stocks eked out a slight gain, bucking the broader market slide. Crude oil prices edged lower and bond yields rose.

The market is coming off a three-week skid following a mostly discouraging batch of economic data that stoked investors’ worries that a slowdown in U.S. economic growth could worsen.

The combination of uncertainty over the costly trade war between the U.S. and China, and the impeachment inquiry drama unfolding in Washington, is likely to continue to drag on the economy and weigh on markets, said Tony Roth, chief investment officer at Wilmington Trust.

“And that’s why the markets are treading water right now, waiting to see if another shoe drops,” Roth said.

The S&P 500 fell 13.22 points, or 0.4 percent, at 2,938.79. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 95.70 points, or 0.4 percent, to 26,478.02. The Nasdaq dropped 26.18 points, or 0.3 percent, to 7,956.29.

Smaller-company stocks fared slightly better than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 index slipped 2.91 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,497.79.

Bond prices fell, pushing the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.56 percent from 1.51 percent Friday.

The benchmark S&P 500 index began the day lower, picked up some gains around midday and then veered back into the red by late afternoon.

The wobbly day in the market reflects the cautious approach that investors are taking as they try to gauge how the economy and corporate profits will fare amid the trade war and political uncertainty in Washington.