Losses in health care and consumer-focused companies pulled U.S. stocks broadly lower Tuesday, snapping a 10-day winning streak for the Dow Jones industrial average.
Energy stocks also fell along with the price of crude oil. Only utilities sector stocks eked out a gain on a day of mostly listless trading as investors kept an eye on the latest company earnings and geopolitical news.
The market slide accelerated slightly in the last half-hour of trading as President Donald Trump denounced North Korea's nuclear program.
The remarks followed a new report asserting that U.S. intelligence has assessed that Pyongyang has successfully produced a nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles.
"That may have weighed a little bit" on markets, said Phil Guarco, global investment specialist J.P. Morgan Private Bank.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 5.99 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,474.92. The Dow slid 33.08 points, or 0.2 percent, to 22,085.34. The S&P 500 and Dow were both coming off record highs.
The Nasdaq composite lost 13.31 points, or 0.2 percent, to 6,370.46. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks gave up 4.02 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,410.15.
Bond prices were little changed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note held steady at 2.26 percent.
The market indexes wavered between small gains and losses for much of the morning, then veered lower by afternoon. The slide deepened after Trump's remarks on North Korea aired.
At a briefing on opioid addiction at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey, Trump warned North Korea not to make any more threats against the United States, adding that North Korea would be "met with fire and fury like the world has never seen."
The VIX, a measure of how much volatility investors expect in stocks, jumped 10.4 percent.
Beyond geopolitical concerns, investors continued to size up company earnings reports.
Traders snapped up shares in companies that delivered strong quarterly results.
Benchmark U.S. crude fell 22 cents to $49.17 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 23 cents to $52.14 a barrel in London.
In other energy futures trading, wholesale gasoline dipped 1 cent to $1.62 a gallon. Heating oil fell 1 cent to $1.63 a gallon. Natural gas gained 2 cents to $2.82 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Gold fell $2.10 to $1,262.60 an ounce. Silver gained 14 cents to $16.39 an ounce. Copper rose 4 cents to $2.94 a pound.
The U.S. dollar fell to 110.48 yen from 110.72 yen late Monday. The euro slid to $1.1752 from $1.1793.