NEW YORK—Stocks drifted to modest losses in a quiet Tuesday on Wall Street, as steadying Treasury yields helped calm the market following its worst tumble in months.
The S&P 500 dipped 9.26 points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,128.73 after flipping between small gains and losses through the day. The edge lower follows up on Monday’s sharp 2.1 percent drop, which came on the heels of the first losing week for the index in the last five.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 154.02, or 0.5 percent, to 32,909.59, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.27, or less than 0.1 percent, to 12381.30. Stocks of smaller companies held up better than the rest of the market, and the Russell 2000 index ticked up by 0.2 percent….