NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks slipped in choppy trade on Wednesday as signs of increasingly sluggish growth in the world economy left investors worried about the outlook for consumer spending and corporate profits.Tech bellwethers such as Intel Corp (NasdaqGS:INTC - News) and International Business Machines Corp (NYSE:IBM - News) shares fell on fears that a global economic slump could crimp tech spending worldwide. Also weighing on the sector, chip makers' shares fell after Qualcomm's (NasdaqGS:QCOM - News) chief executive warned that customers are becoming slower to upgrade their cell phones.
A continued decline in the price of oil, which briefly dipped below $108 a barrel, failed to spark optimism, with investors instead calling it a symptom of slowing global demand.
Adding to the unease, the Federal Reserve said in its Beige Book report that economic activity has been slow across most of the United States in recent weeks, but there has been some relief from high commodity and energy prices.
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