Sudden Technology Tumble Continues as Stocks Fall Further

U.S. stock indexes slipped again Monday as technology companies, which were near record highs last week, suffered a second day of sharp losses. Investors are changing course and selling some of the best-performing stocks of the year while buying companies that have struggled.

Technology companies have surged in recent months, and on Monday almost all of the losses came from the big companies that have led the way recently: Apple, Microsoft, Facebook and Alphabet, Google’s parent company. Stocks fell hard in early trading, but gradually recovered part of their losses as the day went on.

Investors took a new look at some groups of companies that haven’t done that well in 2017, including energy, telecommunications and real estate companies. Some of the best-performing stocks fell, including consumer-focused companies, health care companies, utilities and basic materials makers.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dipped 2.38 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,429.39. The Dow Jones industrial average, which closed at a record high Friday, lost 36.30 points, or 0.2 percent, to 21,235.67. The Nasdaq composite dropped 32.45 points, or 0.5 percent, to 6,175.46. The Russell 2000 index of small-company stocks slid 2.50 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,419.21.

Apple shed $3.66, or 2.5 percent, to $145.32 while Alphabet lost $8.31 to $961.81. Facebook fell $1.16 to $148.44 while Microsoft sank 54 cents to $69.78. Other 2017 top performers like Activision Blizzard, Netflix and Skyworks Solutions also tumbled.

Technology stocks have done far better than the rest of the market this year and were close to all-time highs before Friday’s drop. The technology component of the S&P 500 index shed 2.7 percent Friday, which erased a month’s worth of gains.

General Electric, meanwhile, made its biggest gain in almost two years after it said CEO Jeffrey Immelt will step down after 16 years at the helm. John Flannery, the head of GE’s health care division, will take over the post in August. GE stock gained $1, or 3.6 percent, to $28.94, for its largest one-day jump since October 2015.

Benchmark U.S. crude added 25 cents to $46.08 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 14 cents to $48.29 a barrel in London. Among energy companies, Exxon Mobil rose 80 cents, or 1 percent, to $82.93 and Chevron picked up $1.64, or 1.5 percent, to $108.04.

Bond prices wobbled and turned lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.21 percent from 2.20 percent.

In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline dipped 1 cent to $1.49 a gallon. Heating oil lost less than 1 cent to $1.43 a gallon. Natural gas fell 2 cents to $3.02 per 1,000 cubic feet.

The dollar fell to 109.79 yen from 110.20 yen. The euro inched up to $1.1208 from $1.1195. The British pound continued to fall. It slid to $1.2657 from $1.12724 following the U.K.’s general election, which left the Conservative party with a weaker hold on the government that could affect the country’s bargaining position in its exit talks with the European Union.

Gold slipped $2.50 to $1,268.90 an ounce. Silver sank 28 cents to $16.94 an ounce. Copper lost 3 cents to $2.62 a pound.

European stocks also stumbled. France’s CAC 40 dropped 1.1 percent and the Germany DAX shed 1 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 0.2 percent.