Best Small Cos. The stage for a sell-off was prepared by overnight data showing a big slump in orders from computer chip makers last month amid the economic slowdown.
Traders are likely to lighten up ahead of the weekend and take profits.
Two stocks fell for every one that rose on that market. Marquee names, including Web gear maker Cisco Systems Inc. The latest leg of the advance came after the U.S. Federal Reserve slashed interest rates last week for the fifth time this year by half a percentage point to lift the nation's economy. Graphics semiconductor maker Nvidia Corp. Investors were also spooked by a decline in the value of the euro, the single European currency, to new multi-month lows after unexpectedly weak growth data from Germany and France.