Indexes stayed lower after minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting showed officials agreed to take a cautious approach to raising US interest rates going forward.
US central bank officials also said they would only need to hike rates if incoming information showed a lack of progress in lowering inflation, according to minutes from the October 31-November 1 meeting.
"No surprises from the Fed meeting minutes," said Gene Goldman, chief investment officer at Cetera Investment Management. Goldman noted that the Fed said on November 1 that further hikes were possible, yet Fed Chair Jerome Powell in a news conference "downplayed the need to raise rates again. Markets hoped for some type of clarification on this inconsistency".
Stocks had been rallying, largely on the view that the Fed may be done hiking rates.
Shares of Nvidia slipped from an all-time high. The chipmaker was set to report quarterly results after the closing bell.
An index of semiconductors was down sharply along with the S&P 500 retail index.
Among retailers, Kohl's Corp shares dropped after missing third-quarter sales estimates.
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 9.17 points, or 0.20 per cent, to end at 4,538.22 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 84.55 points, or 0.59 per cent, to 14,199.98. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 62.18 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 35,088.43.
In other retail news, Best Buy shares slipped after the electronics retailer said it expects a steeper drop in annual comparable sales.
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