Dow Takes a Step Back

Updated from 4:15 p.m. EDT

Blue-chip stocks ended lower Wednesday as selloffs in the financial and transportation sectors pulled the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 back from their record levels.

The Dow lost 85.84 points, or 0.61%, at 14,078.69, and the S&P 500 was off 2.68 points, or 0.17%, to 1562.47. The Nasdaq Composite was stronger, rising 7.70 points, or 0.27%, to 2811.61, buoyed again by a 1.7% rise in Google (GOOG Quote).

Boeing (BA Quote) pressured the Dow, falling 2.7% after saying it would delay the initial deliveries of the 787 Dreamliner plane by six months. Another weak spot was Alcoa (AA Quote), whose third-quarter earnings fell just short of estimates. The stock lost 2.5%.

The energy sector was the best performer of the day, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index surging 3% and the Amex Oil Index adding 0.5%. Those moves came despite profit warnings from Chevron (CVX Quote) and Valero (VLO Quote).

Valero's stock sank as low as $69.95 before reversing course and rising 2.9% to close at $74.25. Chevron also recovered from its worst levels but still went out down 0.8% to $92.08.

On the flipside, financials and transportation stocks were hard hit. The Dow Jones Transportation Index fell 1.1%, and the KBW Bank Sector Index slid 1.1%.

"The S&P 500 and the Dow made new highs yesterday, but transports and financials didn't," said Philip Roth, chief technical market analyst with Miller Tabak. "We consolidated a bit today, which is actually favorable in the context of yesterday. There is still a narrow uptrend with financials lagging, and that sector will continue to drag on the market."