Afternoon fizzle leaves S&P with third straight loss

Another afternoon fizzle for stocks left the Standard & Poor’s 500 index with its third straight loss on Tuesday.

The market seemed like it was headed for a gain in the morning, after technology stocks recovered from one of their few stumbles this year. But the tech rally lost momentum as the afternoon went on, and losses for telecom stocks and utilities helped cement the S&P 500’s longest losing streak in nearly four months.

The S&P 500 fell 0.4 percent, to 2,629.57. It had been up 0.3 percent in the morning, and it marked the second straight day where an early rally ended up petering out.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 109.41, or 0.5 percent, to 24,180.64, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.2 percent, to 6,762.21. Losers outnumbered winners on the New York Stock Exchange by nearly two to one.

The market’s ups and downs have come as investors sift through Congress’ twin proposals to revamp the tax system. The Senate and House of Representatives are trying to reconcile their respective versions before sending a bill to President Donald Trump for his approval, and investors are trying to figure out which industries and companies will come out as winners and losers. — AP