Markets Close Lower for 5th Consecutive Day

Stocks extended a losing streak to five days after a decline in late afternoon trading erased an early gain, the AP reports. Utilities and health care stocks fell more than the rest of the market Wednesday. Edwards Lifesciences declined 3%. Whole Foods dropped 5% after the Food and Drug Administration said there were "serious violations" at a kitchen in Massachusetts that may have resulted in contaminated food. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 34 points, or 0.2%, to 17,640. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 3 points, or 0.2%, to 2,071. The Nasdaq composite gave up 8 points, or 0.2%, to 4,834. (More Dow Jones stories.)