A deepening sell-off in chip and memory stocks dragged all four major U.S. equity indexes lower by midday Tuesday.
Money rotated defensively, with health care, real estate and utilities the only sectors firmly higher, while industrials and technology lagged.
The S&P 500 eased about 0.3% to 7,513, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.3% to 52,890, surrendering an earlier record-territory push.
The Nasdaq 100 fell about 1.6% to 29,237 as a memory-chip rout swept the sector.
The small-cap Russell 2000 eased about 0.4% to 2,996.
