Shares of bond insurers Ambac Financial Group Inc. and MBIA Inc. tumbled on Tuesday and helped send the Standard & Poor's 500 to a lower finish.
Ambac Financial declined 33 cents, or 7.6 percent, to $4, and MBIA, which swung to a first-quarter loss on Monday, lost 53 cents, or 5.4 percent, to $9.32.
A Friedman Billings Ramsey analyst cut his price target on MBIA by $3 to $13, fearing stronger competition from Berkshire Hathaway and Assured Guaranty.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.54 points to 1,403.04.
Hewlett-Packard Co. declined $2.56, or 5.5 percent, to $44.27, following news that the company will buy Electronic Data Systems Corp. for $12.6 billion.
On the rising side, Fluor Corp. gained $24.67, or 14.8 percent, to $191.03. Shares set an all-time high of $194.40. The engineering and construction contractor's first-quarter profit topped Wall Street expectations.
Shares of wine, beer and spirits maker Constellation Brands Inc. gained $2.20, or 11.7 percent, to $21.02.
Coal producer Peabody Energy Corp. rose $4.40, or 6.4 percent, to $73.20 and set a 52-week high of $73.66.
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