Tech uncertainty hurts U.S. stocks

A sell-off in technology shares sent U.S. equity benchmarks lower, with losses accelerating late in the day. Bonds surged on demand for safe havens, pushing the yield on 10-year Treasuries below a key level.

Trade angst weighed on leading tech companies with the Nasdaq 100 index erasing most of Monday’s gain after a report the Trump administration is considering a crackdown on Chinese investments in technologies the U.S. considers sensitive. Facebook’s woes mounted and Nvidia spooked investors in chipmakers. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index — Wall Street’s fear gauge — spiked.

The equity selling bled into the Treasury market, sending the 10-year yield below 2.8 percent as investors sought havens. One bright spot was General Electric, which rose the most in two months on speculation that Warren Buffett will buy a stake in the troubled conglomerate.

Investors have been whipsawed over the past few trading sessions as equities tumbled last week, only to rebound sharply Monday and then resume their sell-off Tuesday. Traders are trying to suss out whether the U.S. will reach negotiated truces to ward off an all-out trade war after fears grew that there could be a surge in protectionism in the midst of rising borrowing costs and concerns that inflation could be poised to accelerate.

Uber halts renewal of testing permit

Uber says it is not renewing its permit to test self-driving vehicles in California until police and regulators wrap up an investigation into how one of its autonomous vehicles struck and killed a woman in Arizona last week. The company decided to withdraw its renewal application late last week. The move came to light in a letter that California’s Department of Motor Vehicles sent on Tuesday. The letter informed Uber that its permit expires Saturday and that it will have to address “any follow-up analysis or investigations from the recent crash in Arizona” if it applies for a new permit.

Breitbart will now host live events

Breitbart News is taking a step into the live-events business. Following the lead of other media companies seeking fresh sources of revenue, the right-wing news and opinion site is set to host its first-ever town hall in suburban New Orleans next month, a panel on privacy and technology with the commentator Ann Coulter and Peter Schweizer, the author of “Clinton Cash.”

It is an experiment for a site that has lately been confronting declining web traffic and turbulence in its top ranks.