Stocks fell on Wednesday, retreating from the record highs set earlier in the day, as tech shares struggled and traders weighed the prospects of new fiscal stimulus.
The Dow Jones Industrials tumbled 105.07 points to 30,068.81
The S&P 500 lost 29.43 points to 3,672.82.
The NASDAQ cratered 243.82 points, or 1.9%, to 12,338.95.
Apple was among the worst-performing Dow components, falling more than 2%. Salesforce dropped 3.2%. The S&P 500 tech sector fell 1.9% to lead the index lower. Facebook declined 1.9% after the Federal Trade Commission, along with several states, filed lawsuits that could force the social media giant to divest Instagram and WhatsApp.
NXP Semiconductor and Qorvo fell more than 5% each and were among the worst-performing chip stocks on Wednesday. The overall tech sector came under pressure even after DoorDash became the latest company from the sector to make a spectacular public-market debut. Shares of DoorDash closed higher by 85%.
The major averages gave back most of their gains after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Politico that Republicans and Democrats were "still looking for a way forward" on additional fiscal aid.
Those remarks came after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin pitched Tuesday a $916-billion stimulus package to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The United States has seen one million new cases in just four days, bringing the national total to over 15 million.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury moved downward, lifting yields to 0.94% from Tuesday's 0.92%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices handed back a cent to $45.59 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slid $32.90 to $1,842.00.