Stocks fall as Apple warning raises China virus concerns

Major U.S. stock indexes were mostly lower in late-afternoon trading Tuesday, putting the market on track to give up some of its solid gains from the past two weeks.

The selling, which lost some of its momentum in the final hour of trading, came as investors weighed the impact of the virus outbreak in China on Apple and other major companies.

The tech giant said revenue will fall short of previous forecasts in the fiscal second quarter because production has been curtailed and consumer demand for iPhones has slowed in China. Apple's stores there are are either closed or operating on reduced hours.

Technology stocks accounted for a big slice of the selling. Apple shed 1.8%. Some chipmakers, which also rely heavily on China for sales and supplies, also fell. Intel shed 1.7%.

Banks and energy stocks declined. HSBC said it will cut 35,000 jobs and shed $100 billion in assets. Its shares dropped 5.5%. Wells Fargo slid 2.5% and Schlumberger dropped 1.9%.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.55% from 1.58% late Friday.

Communication services stocks and utilities held up better than most of the market. Dish Network climbed 3.5% and Xcel Energy rose 1.4%.

KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 index fell 0.3% as of 3:31 p.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 155 points, or 0.5%, to 29,242. It had been down 281 points. The Nasdaq recovered from an early slide, inching up less than 0.1%. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks fell 0.2%. European and Asian markets fell.

CHINA OUTBREAK: The viral outbreak that began in China has now infected more than 73,000 people and continues to hurt businesses worldwide. The majority of the cases and deaths remain centered in China.

Businesses continue to feel the economic impact from the virus. The Beijing auto show, the industry's biggest global event of the year, is being postponed indefinitely from its April date. And shares in Medtronic fell 3.7% after the medical device maker warned investors that the virus outbreak will impact its fourth-quarter results.

Apple is among the most notable companies to warn investors that the virus will hurt its financial performance. While the projected revenue miss took Wall Street by surprise, some analysts played down the long-term impact of the iPhone production delay on Apple.

In a research note Tuesday, Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Walkley said that Apple continues to perform strongly across all business lines, including iPhone 11 demand outside of China.

"Despite the lowered near-term iPhone sales estimates, we believe Apple remains on track to reach this target," Walkley wrote.

Technology and health care companies have been the most vocal about mentioning the new coronavirus in their earnings conference calls, according to FactSet.

LOTS OF BENJAMINS: Financial services company Franklin Resources jumped 7.7% after saying it is buying competitor Legg Mason for $4.5 billion. The deal will create a financial company with a combined $1.5 trillion in assets under management. Legg Mason shares vaulted 24.3%.

EARNINGS SNAPSHOT: Traders continued to assess company earnings reports. Advance Auto Parts climbed 7.3% after the auto parts supplier's results topped Wall Street's forecasts. Conagra Brands dropped 5.5% after the food producer cut its fiscal 2020 profit and revenue forecasts, citing surprisingly weak consumption.

WEEK AHEAD: Investors face a shortened week because of Monday's President’s Day holiday, but there are still several key earnings and economic reports on tap.

More than three-quarters of the S&P 500 has already reported financial results, and 51 companies are scheduled to release results this week. Devon Energy and Concho Resources will report their results later Tuesday. Progressive will report results on Wednesday and ViacomCBS will report on Thursday.

The government will release its producer price index for January on Wednesday, along with housing starts data.

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AP Business Writer Damian J. Troise contributed.