NEW YORK, May 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks traded on a downbeat note Wednesday as market mood was dented by a steep sell-off in chipmaker giant Qualcomm shares.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 70.30 points, or 0.27 percent, to 25,807.03. The S&P 500 was down 6.04 points, or 0.21 percent, to 2,858.32. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 26.23 points, or 0.34 percent, to 7,759.50.

Qualcomm shares plunged more than 10 percent in midday trading after reports came out that a U.S. judge ruled the company violated antitrust law by unlawfully suppressing competition in the market for cellphone chips.

The news dragged VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH), which tracks the overall performances of major U.S. exchange-listed companies in the semiconductor industry, down about 1.35 percent at midday.

Of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors, energy slipped 1.45 percent, the worst-performing group. Utilities gained 0.56 percent, outpacing the rest.

Wall Street is also awaiting the release of the latest meeting minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve, which is scheduled to be out in the afternoon. Enditem

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