For the second day in a row investors were confronted with a much lower open. However, Tuesday’s session in the S&P 500 index did not follow that script.

Instead, the index extended the losses and battled back in the afternoon to reduce the overall technical damage. For the session, the index was not far from where it opened Monday morning, down 35.25 handles to 4438.75.

All of the top components of the index contributed to the decline besides the health care sector which was led by UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH). Closing in a red print on the tape, the issue moved higher by $4.57 or +1.1% at $421.78.

The top component of the index, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was down in sympathy, but still closed near all-time highs.