The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was down five points, or 0.3 percent, at 1,831. The Nasdaq composite fell eight points, 0.2 percent, to 4,154.
Telecommunications and energy stocks fell the most.
Ford rose 1 percent after CEO Alan Mulally said he would not leave to run Microsoft.
Later Wednesday, investors will get minutes from the Fed’s December policy meeting, where officials voted to start pulling back on the bank’s economic stimulus program.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.98 percent.
