US stocks fall broadly a day after Nasdaq passes 5,000 mark

Source: AP-Excite

By BERNARD CONDON

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks fell from record highs on Tuesday and the Nasdaq dropped below 5,000 a day after passing that milestone for the first time since the dot-com era 15 years ago.

The losses were modest but broad, with eight industry sectors in the Standard and Poor's 500 index falling. Higher oil prices helped oil drillers and other energy companies buck the trend. They eked out a 0.2 percent rise for the day.

With no major economic news and few earnings reports, investors were at pains to point to a catalyst for the stock slump other than jitters that sometime follow big gains.

"It's only natural we would get a little flutter after a milestone like yesterday," said Wells Fargo Funds' Chief Equity Strategist John Manley, referring to the Nasdaq closing above 5,000. "It may very well go on for a few days."

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People walk past the Nasdaq Marketsite in New York's Times Square on Tuesday, March 3, 2015. The Nasdaq fell below 5,000 a day after passing that milestone for the first time since the dot-com era 15 years ago. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

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