U.S. Stock Indexes Pull Back From Record Highs; Oil Falls

Banks and other financial companies led a slide in U.S. stocks Thursday, erasing some of the gains from a day earlier, when indexes soared to their latest record highs.

Materials and industrials companies also fell sharply. Energy stocks declined along with the price of crude oil. Utilities and phone company stocks bucked the broader market slide.

Investors mostly focused on the latest batch of company news and earnings reports.

Traders had an eye on the Federal Reserve amid growing speculation this week that the central bank will raise interest rates again later this month.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 112.58 points, or 0.5 percent, to 21,002.97. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 14.04 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,381.92.

The Nasdaq composite index slid 42.81 points, or 0.7 percent, to 5,861.22. Small-company stocks fell more than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 index gave up 17.97 points, or 1.3 percent, to 1,395.67.

The stock market was coming off its biggest single-day gain in nearly four months.

Bond prices fell, pushing yields higher. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 2.48 percent from 2.46 percent late Wednesday.

Various Federal Reserve officials have signaled recently that they are closer to supporting another rate hike.

Earlier this week, New York Fed President William Dudley said the case for raising interest rates had gotten stronger. That’s fueled speculation that the central bank will raise interest rates again this month.

Banks, which investors bid sharply higher Wednesday on hopes that higher interest rates would help them earn more from lending, were the biggest losers Thursday.

Citizens Financial Group fell $1.54, or 3.9 percent, to $38.05, while Regions Financial slid 59 cents, or 3.7 percent, to $15.32. Zions Bancorporation gave up $1.57, or 3.4 percent, to $44.96.

Kroger slid 4.3 percent after the supermarket operator said business conditions in the first half of 2017 will remain difficult due to low food prices. The stock fell $1.39 to $30.67. Best Buy climbed 6.4 percent after rival hhgregg announced plans to close 88 stores and three distribution facilities. Best Buy gained $2.71 to $44.85.

In Europe, Germany’s DAX slipped 0.1 percent, while France’s CAC 40 was 0.1 percent higher. Britain’s FTSE 100 was flat. Earlier in Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 stock index rose 0.9 percent, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong added 0.5 percent.

The price of U.S. crude fell $1.22, or 2.3 percent, to close at $52.61 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost $1.28, or 2.3 percent, to close at $55.08 a barrel.

Wholesale gasoline shed 3 cents, or 2.1 percent, to close at $1.64 a gallon. Heating oil slid 5 cents, or 2.8 percent, to close at $1.58 a gallon. Natural gas rose 1 cent to close at $2.80 per 1,000 cubic feet.

The dollar strengthened to 114.51 yen from 113.71 yen on Wednesday. The euro weakened to $1.0501 from $1.0544.

Gold fell $17.10, or 1.4 percent, to $1,232.90 an ounce. Silver slid 74 cents, or 4 percent, to $17.71 an ounce. Copper shed 5 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $2.68 a pound.