U.S. stocks fall flat after roller coaster day of trading Wednesday

May 6 (UPI) -- U.S. stocks fell flat Wednesday after a roller coaster start to the day of trading.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average made early gains after the opening bell but reversed course to close down 218.45 points, or 0.91 percent. The S&P 500 rode a similar path and was near flat, falling 0.7 percent, while the Nasdaq was up 0.51 percent at the end of trading.

The Dow, the stock exchange's bellwether index, had gained about 130 points Tuesday.

Tech stocks built on gains from earlier in the week as Facebook rose 0.68 percent, Apple increased 1.03 percent, Amazon climbed 1.44 percent and Netflix gained 2.26 percent.

General Motors stock rose 3.06 percent after reporting a small profit and announcing it will open most United States and Canadian plants on May 18. Fiat Chrysler stock fell 0.97 percent despite announcing Tuesday it also plans to resume production on that date.

Falling oil prices, however, dragged the S&P 500's energy sector down 2.6 percent as West Texas Intermediate fell 1.67 percent and Brent crude fell 3.52 percent.