The markets traded lower during the midday with the Dow losing 20 points to 20,080. Nasdaq slipped a point to 5,654.
Porsche will recall 16,429 vehicles to fix a problem with fastening screws. All 911, Boxster and Cayman models that were built between October 2015 and September 2016 are affected. The recalled vehicles have been sold around the world.
Former Volkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn is being investigated by German prosecutors for fraud. The allegations stem from the diesel emissions scandal that is now costing the automaker $4.3 billion in fines. Winterkorn is accused of knowing about the emissions evading software in vehicles much earlier than he claimed.
Tesla Motors has sued its former director of Autopilot, Sterling Anderson, of stealing proprietary data. Anderson launched his own self-driving car startup Aurora Innovation with the former leader of Google's autonomous car unit Chris Urmson. Anderson and Urmson are also accused of trying to recruit engineers from Tesla and Google.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 5 to 3 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index lost 3 points to 2,293. Bitcoin gained $5 to $914.
