The S&P technology sector slipped 1.2%, the most among the 11 major S&P sectors. High-level trade talks between Washington and Beijing are scheduled for next month before the start of the third-quarter earnings season. "You never know if it's a ploy to get some leverage on those talks ... it could be just trying to rile up the base, but at face value, it's going to be a bit of a negative for the markets," said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The three main indexes are set to end a volatile week slightly lower, after conflicting headlines about US-China trade and as US Democrats launched an impeachment investigation on President Donald Trump. Shares of Wells Fargo & Co rose 4.1% and were the top gainers on the S&P 500 after the lender named banking veteran Charles Scharf as chief executive officer. The banking sub-sector rose 1.2%. At 13:14 ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 47.87 points, or 0.18%, at 26,843.25, the S&P 500 was down 14.31 points, or 0.48%, at 2,963.31. The Nasdaq Composite was down 79.54 points, or 0.99%, at 7,951.12.