Stocks Start Lower After Record Run

NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks are starting the day lower after a record-setting run. Energy and industrial companies are taking some of the biggest losses Wednesday. Technology stocks, which have risen every day in February, are slipping as big names like Apple and Intel decline.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average dipped 12 points, or 0.1 percent, to 20,730 as of 10:05 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 5 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,360. The Nasdaq composite shed 12 points, or 0.2 percent, to 5,853. The Russell 2000 index of small-company stocks slid 5 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,405.

All four indexes closed at record highs Tuesday. Thanks to big gains for technology stocks this year, the Nasdaq is up almost 9 percent so far in 2017, substantially more than the other big indexes. Technology stocks are trading at their highest prices since mid-2000, before the dot-com bubble burst.

TAKE IT TO THE HOUSE: Luxury home builder Toll Brothers announced stronger first-quarter results than analysts expected, and the company said it should finish more houses this year than it initially anticipated. Its stock gained $1.96, or 6.1 percent, to $33.95. Other homebuilders including Lennar and PulteGroup made smaller gains.

ACTVISTS STAY BUSY: Drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb rose 65 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $55.43 after Dow Jones reported that billionaire investor Carl Icahn bought a stake in the company. Icahn has not confirmed his investment. That news came one day after Bristol-Myers reached a deal with another activist investor, Jana Partners. It will add three new directors to its board and spend $2 billion to buy back stock. Bristol-Myers stock has plunged as investors worry that its lung cancer drug Opdivo will lose sales to other treatments. The stock traded at $75 in early August.

ON THE REBOUND: Food and consumer products company Unilever rose after it said it will quickly review its options to find ways to raise value for shareholders. Kraft Heinz went public Friday with an offer to buy the company for $143 billion, but it withdrew that offer over the weekend after Unilever said it wasn't big enough. Unilever regained $1.83, or 4.1 percent, to $46.70 after a 7.5 percent skid Tuesday.

ALL THAT GLITTERS: Gold and copper mining company Newmont Mining posted a smaller profit and less revenue than analysts expected. The company forecast greater costs, and it also took $970 million in charges that are related to expenses at a mine it is closing. Its stock gave up $1.88, or 5 percent, to $35.56.

TECH TRIPPED UP: Intel fell 35 cents, or 1 percent, to $36.71 while Microsoft retreated 23 cents to $64.26. Apple, which is trading at all-time highs, lost 29 cents to $136.41. The S&P 500's technology index has gained ground every day in February so after, and it's up almost 5 percent this month and 9.5 percent this year. That brought that index to its highest level since July 2000.

FED WATCH: Investors are eager to know whether the Fed might speed up the pace of its interest rate increases. Chair Janet Yellen indicated that is likely if the job market remains healthy and inflation stays on track. Though higher rates tend to weigh on stocks, the Fed's confidence and broader optimism about the economy have buoyed markets.

OIL: Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 73 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $53.60 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost 68 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $56.08 a barrel in London.

BONDS: Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.41 percent form 2.43 percent.

CURRENCIES: The dollar slipped to 113.15 yen from 113.58 yen. The euro slid to $1.0512 from $1.0547.

OVERSEAS: Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.1 percent and France's CAC 40 shed 0.4 percent. Germany's DAX added 0.2 percent. The Japanese Nikkei 225 finished unchanged while South Korea's Kospi added 0.2 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 1 percent.

(KA)