The S&P 500 traded lower at midday, weighed down as oil prices closed in on $130 a barrel and the government reported inflation climbed last month.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude for June delivery reached as high as $129.58 before pulling back to $129.12, up $207. The spike came as OPEC said it won't increase oil output for its next meeting in September.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said wholesale inflation rose 0.2 percent last month, with the figure coming in at a higher-than-expected 0.4 percent when excluding food and energy prices.
The S&P 500 lost 13.20 points, or 0.9 percent, to 1,413.43.
Chip maker Micron Technology Inc. rose 60 cents, or 6.9 percent, to $8.20. At JPMorgan's technology conference Monday, memory chip maker SanDisk Corp. warned of soft sales ahead.
Broadcom Corp., which also makes computer chips, gave up $1.76, or 3.4 percent, to $26.02.
Home builder Centex Corp. shed $1.25, or 5.5 percent, to $21.81.
Among the gainers, health insurer Humana Inc. gained $1.51, or 3.4 percent, to $46.26.
Medtronic Inc. gained $1.53, or 3.2 percent, to $49.41. On Tuesday, the medical device maker said its fiscal fourth-quarter profit was flat, but came in higher than Wall Street estimates.
Exelon Corp. rose $2.35, or 2.7 percent, to $88.53 after hitting a fresh 52-week high of $88.97. A Credit Suisse analyst upgraded the power utility to "Outperform" from "Neutral" in a note to investors, predicting it will see stronger earnings leverage from higher gas and coal prices.
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