Stocks Slip After Chinese Delegation Leaves

Stocks veered lower on Wall Street in afternoon trading Friday after reports that a Chinese delegation has cut short a visit to the US, fueled speculation that upcoming talks aimed at resolving the costly trade war between Washington and Beijing are in trouble. The selling, which erased modest early gains for the market, had the S&P 500 index on track to end a streak of three straight weekly gains. The S&P 500 was down 10 points, or 0.3%, to 2,996 as of 3:37pm. The Dow Jones industrials fell 105 points, or 0.4%, to 26,988. The index was briefly down 168 points. The Nasdaq lost 56 points, or 0.7%, to 8,126, weighed down by declining technology sector stocks. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks slid 1 point, or 0.1%, to 1,559. Financial stocks veered lower as bond yields declined. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.73% from 1.77% late Thursday. Bond yields, which can affect interest rates on mortgages and other consumer loans, had been steadily sliding all week. American Express fell 0.8%. Technology and communications companies fell broadly Friday. Microsoft dropped 1.3% and Netflix 6%. (More stock market stories.)