Nasdaq falls 1.3% as semiconductor shares retreat

The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.3 percent early Tuesday as semiconductor shares retreated and Wall Street stocks were mostly lower.

About 15 minutes into trading, the Nasdaq was at 24,614.64. The S&P 500 dipped 0.3 percent to 7,390.65, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5 percent to 52,493.61.

Shares of semiconductor companies including Sandisk, Intel and Micron were lower. Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers said investors still wanted exposure to technology but were becoming nervous about market swings.

"We've had such big runs in so many tech stocks that there's no room for disappointment," Sosnick said. "When you're priced to perfection, you have to deliver perfection."

Crude prices were down about 2 percent amid market hopes that a pause on military strikes between the United States and Iran could be a step towards resolving the war in the Middle East.

Among individual companies, Boeing rose 2.7 percent after its earnings, while Coca-Cola rose 5.8 percent.