Equities fluctuated, with the S&P 500 remaining below the 5,200 mark that it briefly touched this week. Megacaps came under pressure. Intel Corp. slumped as the chipmaker weakened its revenue outlook after a US ban on chip exports to Huawei Technologies Co. Treasuries remained lower after a $42 billion sale of 10-year bonds saw tepid demand.

“All of these ingredients create a perfect recipe for an excuse for investors to take a step back after the recent bounce and reassess things,” said strategists at Bespoke Investment Group.

Lack of conviction among investors to buy into the recent bounce in US stocks shows the market is far from turning fully bullish, say Citigroup Inc. strategists. The recent unwind of short positions has left the S&P 500 close to one-sided net long, but investors appear hesitant to add to the existing bullish positions, a team led by Chris Montagu wrote in a note.

“Flows tell a story of limited enthusiasm with a trickle of new long positions and only marginal increase in risk appetite,” Montagu said.

Most stocks fell on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 hovering near 5,180. Treasury 10-year yields advanced three basis points to 4.49%.