US stocks fall amid tech weakness

Wall Street stocks finished lower on Tuesday with technology and transportation shares sagging in light-volume trading ahead of the Independence Day holiday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5% to 24 174.82.

The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.5% to 2 713.22, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 0.9% to 7 502.67.

Wall Street stocks had opened mostly higher, with petroleum-linked shares achieving solid gains as US oil prices topped $75 a barrel.

But analysts said sentiment shifted after oil prices retreated from that level at mid-session. Market swings were accentuated by low trading volumes, with US markets closing early on Tuesday for the July 4th holiday.

Technology shares, which had outperformed the rest of the broader market on Monday, suffered a weak session.

Facebook tumbled 2.4% after confirming it faces investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation on its release of consumer data to now-defunct political consultancy Cambridge Analytica.

Tesla Motors was another weak tech stock, dropping 7.2% a day after the company reported meeting a key production target for its Model 3 sedan.

Other large technology companies, including Apple, Google parent Alphabet and Microsoft, also fell.

American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Continental all dropped at least 1% following a downgrade by Deutsche Bank.

General Motors fell 1.2% despite reporting a 4.6% increase in second-quarter US sales.

Ford fell 1.0% after reporting a 1.2% increase in June US sales but a 1.8% drop in sales for the first half of the year.