Wall Street ends lower as EU's Apple tax decision draws ire

Wall Street closed marginally lower on Tuesday as US officials reacted angrily to European authorities' decision to demand $14.5 billion in back taxes from Apple.

The tech giant's shares fell 0.8 percent on the Nasdaq, putting the company down 3.2 percent over the last two weeks.

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3 percent to 18,454.30.

The broader S&P 500 lost 0.2 percent to close at 2,176.12 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 0.2 percent at 5,222.99.

Other tech companies were likewise in negative territory: Microsoft and HP fell 0.4 percent while Google parent Alphabet Inc was down 0.5 percent.

Financial sector giants bucked the downward trend however. The investment giant Goldman Sachs rose 1.9 percent, JPMorgan Chase was up 0.8 percent and Bank of America gained 2.2 percent. Morgan Stanley was up 2.5 percent.

Abercrombie & Fitch suffered a 20 percent drop in share price, while other clothing retailers had smaller declines: Gap fell 4.3 percent, Urban Outfitters lost 2.5 percent and Guess was down 4.4 percent.

US oil companies were mixed as crude prices continued to slip, with Chevron and Exxon Mobil both falling 0.4 percent but Marathon Petroleum rising 0.9 percent. ConocoPhillips lost 0.3 percent.