NEW YORK -- The relief that greeted reports of a possible cease-fire in Ukraine faded on Wall Street, as a slide in Apple and other technology stocks tugged the U.S. stock market to a small loss Wednesday.
The Standard & Poor's 500 slipped 1.56 points, a fraction of a percent, to end at 2,000.72.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 10.72 points, or 0.1 percent, to 17,078.28. The Nasdaq composite, which is dominated by large tech companies, sank 25.62 points, or 0.6 percent, to 4,572.57.
News that Russia and Ukraine were close to reaching a cease-fire agreement rippled through markets early, lifting stocks in Europe and pushing up oil prices. In the U.S., the stock market headed higher at the start of trading, then sagged in the afternoon.
One reason was Apple, the market's top heavyweight. The tech giant's stock slumped $4.36, or 4 percent, to $98.94 after its rival, Samsung, introduced two Galaxy smartphones with displays aimed at quick access to frequently used applications. Analysts expect Apple to unveil iPhones with bigger screens next week.
Shares in other big tech companies, including Amazon and Facebook, also fell 1 percent or more. Of the 10 sectors in the S&P 500, technology companies lost the most.
Markets have barely moved this week even with news that, in other times, might cause investors to cheer.
Any good news has to be unusually good to push the S&P 500 past 2,000 and further into record territory, said Uri Landesman, president of Platinum Partners, an investment fund in New York.
"Above 2,000, discretion is the better part of valor," Landesman said. "Most people are kind of reluctant to jump in right now."
Another encouraging report on the U.S. economy came out Wednesday. The Commerce Department said orders for U.S. factory goods shot up 10 percent in July. That followed strong figures for manufacturing activity and construction spending Tuesday.
"Everything right now is pointing to greater market strength," said Jonathan Golub, chief U.S. market strategist at RBC Capital Markets. "What usually stops bull markets? It's almost always a recession." And there are no signs of a recession on the horizon, he said.
In Europe, markets surged after reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart had agreed to the broad terms of a peace plan to stop the fighting in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine and Western countries say Russia has armed insurgents in eastern Ukraine. Moscow denies it.
Germany's DAX climbed 1.3 percent. The CAC-40 in France picked up 1 percent. Russia's benchmark MICEX soared 3.5 percent.
Craig Erlam, market analyst at Alpari, said the reports of a cease-fire were "welcomed with open arms by the markets."
The hope, he said, must be that economic sanctions on Russia would soon be lifted, which could help the European economy reclaim lost ground.
"We can't forget that the effects of the crisis have been felt in many countries beyond those directly involved," said Erlam.
Business on 09/04/2014