By Sue Chang and Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch

Yellen testifies in front of House Financial Services Committee

U.S. stocks retreated Wednesday as investors sold shares of telecommunications companies. The moves come as traders listen to Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen's testimony before the House Financial Services Committee and as a closely followed meeting of major oil producers wraps.

The S&P 500 fell 2 points, or 0.1%, at 2,157, with most sectors in the red, led by a sharp tumble in telecom stocks, topped by a 2% drop in AT&T Inc.(T). The energy sector was the sole exception, tracking oil prices sharply higher.

"After a bounce on Tuesday, which was mostly due to a technical rally after three days of selling, markets do not have any positive or overly negative news to react to," said Michael Antonelli, equity sales trader at Robert W. Baird & Co.

Traders have been hesitant to make big wagers amid volatile oil prices, but a rebound in the shares of embattled Deutsche Bank provided some early support to global markets.

Yellen's discussion is centered on regulation and supervision and come amid a parade of other Fed members Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 27 points, or 0.2%, to 18,201 with Nike Inc. (NKE) leading the laggards.

The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 10 points, or 0.2%, to 5,295.

"The market has been slowly grinding higher [over the past year] primarily because investors have nowhere else to turn," said Kim Caughey Forrest, senior analyst and portfolio manager at Fort Pitt Capital Group.

Forrest noted that investors are cognizant of what's going on with oil prices as well as Deutsche Bank concerns.

"Oil prices continue to trade around $40-$45 a barrel when by now experts told us it would be around $60. This means that earnings of energy companies will continue to struggle in the third quarter," Forrest said.

According to FactSet, the estimated earnings decline for the S&P 500 in the third quarter is 2.3%, largely dragged down by drop in earnings in the energy sector.

Oil meeting:Crude-oil prices (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/crude-higher-but-market-faces-long-wait-for-next-opec-move-on-output-2016-09-28) were higher, bouncing back from an intraday low of $44.35 as energy traders watched for headlines from a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries that is expected to end with no deal to freeze output.

Read:Why China is the oil 'wild card' that could overrule any OPEC moves (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-china-is-the-wild-card-that-could-overrule-any-opec-moves-2016-09-27)

Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank AG's U.S.-listed shares (DBK.XE)(DBK.XE) rose following news the troubled German lender is selling an insurance business (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-erase-monthly-loss-as-oil-firms-deutsche-bank-rally-2016-09-28), as the country's government denied a report it is readying a rescue plan for the bank (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/german-government-preparing-rescue-plan-for-deutsche-bank-report-2016-09-28).

See:Deutsche Bank's woes not a Lehman moment, says UBS chairman (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/deutsche-banks-woes-not-a-lehman-moment-says-ubs-chairman-axel-weber-2016-09-28)

Also check out: Veteran banking analyst Dick Bove believes Deutsche Bank is 'too big to fail' (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/veteran-banking-analyst-believes-deutsche-bank-is-too-big-to-fail-2016-09-27)

The Fed front: Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester is expected to make remarks on the economic outlook and monetary policy at a forum in the Cleveland area at 4:35 p.m. Eastern.

Kansas City Fed President Esther George will give a speech at the Forum for Minority Bankers, speaking about the economy, payments system and leadership strategies.

In other economic news, orders for durable or long-lasting goods flattened out in August (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/durable-goods-orders-lose-steam-in-august-2016-09-28)after a sizable gain in the prior month, pointing to ongoing difficulties for American manufacturers.

Read:

Other markets: European stocks rose, while Asian markets closed mostly lower (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nikkei-leads-asia-lower-on-bank-losses-yen-strength-2016-09-28). Gold futures inched down, and a key dollar index edged up.

Corporate news: Shares in Tempur Sealy International Inc.(TPX) dove 24% after the mattress company lowered its 2016 guidance late Tuesday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tempur-sealy-shares-fall-as-2016-outlook-cut-2016-09-27).

Nike's stock lost 3.5% as the sportswear giant's quarterly report late Tuesday indicated a slowdown in growth (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nike-sales-and-profit-rise-orders-growth-slows-2016-09-27) for a measure of future sales.

Alphabet Inc.(GOOGL)(GOOGL) was 0.6% lower after Google's parent company was downgraded to underperform at Wedbush, which cited concerns about a new approach for the company's search ads (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/alphabet-shares-dip-premarket-as-wedbush-downgrades-to-underperform-2016-09-28).

BlackBerry Ltd.(BB.T) shares jumped 3.9% after the ailing smartphone company and named a new chief financial officer.

Wells Fargo & Co.(WFC) shares fell 0.1%. The embattled banking giant said late Tuesday that the company's head of community banking, Carrie Tolstedt, has left the company (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wells-fargo-executive-departs-as-probe-into-scandal-launches-2016-09-27). At the same time, CEO John Stumpf has recused himself from a probe and agreed to forfeit outstanding equity awards worth about $41 million. Wells Fargo, rocked by a scandal involving employees opening accounts without customers' knowledge, also said independent directors and a law firm are investigating its practices.

--Victor Reklaitis contributed to this article.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 28, 2016 13:08 ET (17:08 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.