Stocks dipped on Wednesday as weakness in energy and materials sectors weighed on indexes and as traders said there were unconfirmed rumors in the market that a troubled hedge fund was selling assets.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 16.03 points, or 0.11 percent, to 14,019.64. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> dropped 5.81 points, or 0.38 percent, to 1,525.13. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> dropped 13.82 points, or 0.43 percent, to 3,199.77.

(Reporting By Edward Krudy; Editing by Kenneth Barry)