Tech companies, Citigroup tug US stocks lower

NEW YORK – It was a bad day to be an investor in Citigroup or tech stocks.

U.S. stock indexes edged lower for a second day Thursday as investors continued to retreat from technology stocks. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index closed at its lowest level in six weeks.

Bank stocks were also in focus. Citigroup fell 5 percent after the Federal Reserve denied the bank's plan to raise its dividend and buy back more stock. Most other major banks won approval to raise their dividends.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 3.52 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,849.04 and the Nasdaq dropped 22.35 points, or 0.5 percent, to 4,151.23.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell a modest 4.76 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to end at 16,264.23. The blue-chip index benefited from a gain in Exxon Mobil, which rose $1.54, or 1.6 percent, to $96.24 as the price of oil increased 1 percent to just over $101 a barrel.

Once again, the high-flying technology stocks that soared in 2013 were among the hardest hit. Tesla Motors fell nearly 3 percent, Netflix lost 2.2 percent and Google fell 1.6 percent.

The sell-off continues what has already been a tough month for technology stocks. Netflix is down 18 percent this month, and Twitter and Tesla have fallen 16 and 15 percent.