NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are slipping Tuesday as industrial companies, retailers and smaller and more U.S.-focused companies take losses. Banks are rising as Congress prepares to loosen some of the rules that have governed the industry since the 2008 financial crisis. Automakers are climbing after China said it will reduce auto import duties, a sign the two powers could resolve some of their differences on trade.

KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 index slid 6 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,726 at 3:38 p.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 156 points, or 0.6 percent, to 24,858. The Nasdaq composite fell 6 points, or 0.1 percent, to 7,386. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks fell 8 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,629 after closing at record highs the last four days.

RETAIL ROUT: Kohl's had a strong second quarter, but said much of that strength came because a Mother's Day-related sale came earlier in the year. While that helped the company in the fiscal second quarter, it will hurt its sales in the third and fourth quarters. Kohl's sank 6.9 percent to $60.97.

J.C. Penney fell 7.6 percent to $2.31 as CEO Marvin Ellison leaves the department store to become the top executive at Lowe's. Ellison worked at Lowe's rival Home Depot for 12 years before he was hired by J.C. Penney, and he will replace Robert Niblock on July 2. Lowe's fell 1.5 percent to $86.10.

Auto parts retailers Advance Auto Parts and AutoZone reported weaker sales than analysts expected, and both stocks tumbled. AutoZone dropped 8.7 percent to $607.04 and Advance fell 2.6 percent to $116.03.

TRADE HOPES: Stocks rose Monday as investors grew more hopeful that the trade dispute between the U.S. and China will be resolved without major effects on the global economy. But Marina Severinovsky, an investment strategist at Schroders, said the two countries appear to be looking for easy wins without addressing larger and more difficult issues, like China's technology policies and disputes over intellectual property.

That might pacify the market for now because the global economy is doing well, but she thinks tensions will eventually flare up again.

"The more competitive the Chinese become in higher end industries ... the more this is really going to become an issue," she said. "There will be more industries and companies clamoring for protection."

A BOOST FOR BANKS: The House of Representatives is expected to approve a bill that rolls back parts of the Dodd-Frank law, which was passed in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. The bill would increase the threshold at which banks are deemed so big and so connected to the financial grid that if one were to fail it would cause major havoc. The measure passed the Senate in March and it's being supported by most Republicans and some Democrats.

Banks reported record profits in the first quarter of the year as last year's corporate tax cut juiced their profits. JPMorgan Chase climbed 1.3 percent to $113.56 and BB&T Corp. gained 1.6 percent to $55.71.

Severinovsky said the bill wouldn't make a major difference to banks, but it's giving investors a reason to feel better about their prospects.

"These are very different businesses than the way we remember them in 2009," she said, adding that banks have stronger balance sheets and are befitting from the improved economy and higher interest rates.

DRIVE ON: China followed up on a promise it made in April by reducing auto import duties effective July 1. That follows pledges to buy more U.S. goods and end restrictions on foreign ownership in the industry. China is the world's biggest auto market by number of vehicles sold. Purchases of SUVs, sedans and minivans totaled 24.7 million units in 2017, compared with 17.2 million for the United States, the No. 2 market.

General Motors climbed 0.8 percent to $38.40 and Tata Motors of India advanced 4.1 percent to $22.93.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude shed an early gain and fell 0.2 percent to $72.13 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 0.4 percent to $79.57 per barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline rose 0.6 percent to $2.27 a gallon. Heating oil added 0.3 percent to $2.28 a gallon. Natural gas jumped 3.5 percent to $2.91 per 1,000 cubic feet.

METALS: Gold rose 0.1 percent to $1,292 an ounce. Silver added 0.3 percent to $16.58 an ounce. Copper rose 1.1 percent to $3.13 a pound.

BONDS: Bond prices were little changed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note remained at 3.06 percent.

CURRENCY: The dollar declined to 111.02 yen from 111.11 yen. The euro rose to $1.1779 from $1.1772.

OVERSEAS: The German DAX, which was closed for a holiday Monday, jumped 0.7 percent and London's FTSE 100 added 0.2 percent. France's CAC 40 rose less than 0.1 percent. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 lost 0.2 percent. Markets in Hong Kong and South Korea were closed for holidays.

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AP Markets Writer Marley Jay can be reached at http://twitter.com/MarleyJayAP . His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/marley%20jay