Stocks Close Lower on Wall Street

Stocks are closing lower on Wall Street Wednesday as energy companies and retailers bear the brunt of the declines, the AP reports. Lowe's and Nordstrom were among the biggest decliners in the S&P 500 after the companies reported quarterly results that fell short of Wall Street's expectations. Target was a bright spot in retail with a gain of 7.8% after its results handily topped analysts' forecasts. Energy stocks fell as the price of oil slid 2.7%. Halliburton dropped 3.3%. Tech stocks also declined. Qualcomm tumbled 11% after an adverse ruling in an antitrust case. The S&P 500 index fell 8 points, or 0.3%, to 2,856. The Dow dropped 100 points, or 0.4%, to 25,776. The Nasdaq slid 34 points, or 0.5%, to 7,750. (More stock market stories.)