Stocks slipped in New York for the second day in a row yesterday as an early onset of summer doldrums and nervousness about the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee meeting next week quashed investor enthusiasm.

Technology shares started the day higher but soon fell as profit-taking continued following Friday's modest rally. The tech slump spread to other sectors of the market.

On Wall Street, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Intel and Applied Materials all fell. Shares of Wal-Mart rose after the leading retailer announced earnings that beat analyst estimates.

With few major economic indicators coming out and the next meeting of the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee a week away, stock trading has been slow in recent sessions. Monday was the quietest session of the year so far.