Thursday's early afternoon trade: Tech rally loses steam, McDonald's pushes Dow higher

A rally in technology stocks came to a halt on Thursday, setting up the Nasdaq for its first loss in five days, while a jump in McDonald's shares and energy stocks boosted the Dow.
Shares of the world's biggest fast-food chain rose as much as 3.9 percent to a four-month high of $168.74 after a report that the company was planning a new round of layoffs.
The S&P technology index fell 1.3 percent, led by heavyweights Microsoft and Facebook. The losses came on the back of a strong rally that pushed the index to record levels, even as the broader market grappled with trade and geopolitical uncertainties.
"It's probably a slight give back considering a pretty robust return month-to-date already," said Michael Dowdall, investment strategist at BMO Global Asset Management in Chicago.
There were a few bright spots in the tech sector, with some chipmakers and optical stocks gaining after US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Washington had reached a deal with China's ZTE that would allow it to do business again with US suppliers.
Qualcomm, whose products account for most of the chips used in ZTE smartphones, rose 0.9 percent. Qualcomm is also trying to get Chinese approval for its pending $44 billion acquisition of NXP Semiconductors NV.
NXP shares rose 6.2 percent.
At 12:49 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 93.67 points, or 0.37 percent, at 25,240.06, the S&P 500 was down 4.89 points, or 0.18 percent, at 2,767.46 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 68.41 points, or 0.89 percent, at 7,620.83.