Stocks close lower, on track for first monthly loss of 2019

Another round of selling gripped Wall Street on Wednesday as nervous investors fled health care, technology and other high-risk stocks in favor of the safety of bonds.

The broad sell-off, which lost some momentum in the final hour of trading, keeps the market on track for its fourth consecutive weekly loss and its first monthly drop this year.

The latest market slide comes as investors worry that the trade war between the U.S. and China will derail global economic and corporate profit growth as it drags on with no sign of a resolution.

"This is just a bit of a retrenchment with this realization that this trade issue may take longer to resolve than we previously thought," said Jeff Kravetz, regional investment director for U.S. Bank Wealth Management. "That's giving concern that there is going to be lower economic growth going forward."

The market has been heading steadily lower this month as prospects for the economy have dimmed and as traders got more worried about the lingering trade feud between Washington and Beijing.

The S&P 500 index fell 0.7 percent to 2,783.02. The index had been down 1.3 percent earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 221.36 points, or 0.9 percent, to 25,126.41. It had tumbled 409 points. With two more trading days left in May, the S&P 500 is heading for a loss of 5.5 percent. That would be its first monthly loss since December. The Nasdaq composite slid 0.8 percent, to 7,547.31.