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New York • U.S. stocks are slipping in subdued trading Wednesday afternoon ahead of Britain's vote on whether to leave the European Union.

Energy companies are falling in tandem with the price of oil and technology companies are down following weak reports from Adobe and HP.

Health care stocks are moving higher.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average dipped 29 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,800 as of 12:50 p.m. Mountain time. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was unchanged at 2,088. The Nasdaq composite edged down 4 points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,839.

THE QUOTE: "There's not a lot of trading out there, people are tentative," said Randy Frederick, managing director of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab. Britons will vote Thursday, but results won't be known until after U.S. markets are closed. Frederick said stocks could tumble if Britain votes to leave the European Union, but if the "remain" campaign wins, U.S. stocks won't have a huge reaction.

OIL: Oil prices fell after U.S. energy stockpiles decreased by a smaller amount than analysts expected. Oil prices have tumbled in the last few years because growth in supplies has far outstripped demand. Benchmark U.S. crude fell 72 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $49.13 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the benchmark for international oil prices, lost 74 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $49.88 a barrel in London.

That took energy companies lower. Chevron gave up 66 cents to $102.58 and Marathon Oil lost 26 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $14.83.

HEALTH SCARE: Health care stocks climbed because Medicare spending did not exceed levels that would have required action by a cost-cutting board created as part of the 2010 health care overhaul. The review board does not currently have any members, but investors have been worrying for months that the government will pressure drug companies to cut their prices.

Alliance Bernstein analyst Tim Anderson said the development is good for health care investors, but said spending may hit the target next year, giving the next president more leverage in trying to lower drug prices. Bristol-Myers Squibb rose $1.14, or 1.6 percent, to $72.39 and cancer drug maker Celgene jumped $2.47, or 2.6 percent, to $72.40.

TESLA GOES SHOPPING: Electric car maker Tesla offered to buy solar panel maker SolarCity for up to $2.8 billion in an attempt to create a one-stop shop for cleaner energy as consumers become more concerned about fossil fuels harming the environment. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is the chairman and largest shareholder in both companies, and SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive is his cousin. SolarCity stock jumped $1.27, or 6 percent, to $22.46 and Tesla slumped $21.81, or 9.9 percent, to $197.80.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE: Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen reiterated that the Federal Reserve will be cautious in raising interest rates because of the mixed state of the economy, with consumer spending rising but investment spending weak. In her second and final day of testimony, Yellen faced sharp criticism from House Republicans.

BRITAIN: Campaigners on both sides of Thursday's vote on whether Britain should remain in the EU began the final frantic day of campaigning. Polls indicate it will be a tight race but bookies are giving the "remain" camp a higher probability of winning. International experts, including Yellen, have said that a British exit would cause a lot of volatility in global markets and uncertainty for the world economy.

ADOBE OUTLOOK WOES: Software maker Adobe Systems announced a larger-than-expected quarterly profit, but analysts were less excited about its projections for the current quarter. Its stock gave up $5.29, or 5.3 percent, to $94.43.

HP OUTLOOK: Computer and printer maker HP forecast strong results in its fiscal third quarter but announced some changes in its marketing strategy. The company said it won't offer as many discounts on its products and will carry reduced supplies. An analyst for Citi Investment Research called the change a "radical shift." HP fell 62 cents, or 4.7 percent, to $12.71.

LOST IN THE MAIL: FedEx posted solid quarterly results, but it gave a cautious outlook as the package delivery company spends more money on expanding its groundwork and acquires more aircraft to keep up with the e-commerce boom. Its stock fell $6.87, or 4.2 percent, to $157.07.

KB DOES OK: Homebuilder KB Home's profit surpassed estimates and sales were far stronger than expected. Its stock gained 32 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $14.86.

The government also reported that sales of previously-occupied homes rose 1.8 percent in May to reach the highest level since February 2007. Few homes are on the market, but low mortgage rates and continued job growth has shoppers continuing to look for houses.

SLOWER GROWTH: The International Monetary Fund downgraded its forecast for the U.S. economy this year and said America should raise the minimum wage to help the poor, offer paid maternity leave to encourage more women to work and overhaul the corporate tax system to boost productivity.

The IMF thinks the U.S. economy will grow 2.2 percent this year, down from its previous forecast of 2.4 percent. The economy grew 2.4 percent in 2015.

OTHER ENERGY TRADING: Wholesale gasoline was little changed at $1.59 a gallon. Heating oil fell 1 cent to $1.50 a gallon. Natural gas lost 9 cents to $2.68 per 1,000 cubic feet.

METALS: The price of gold fell $2.50 to $1,270 an ounce. Gold prices have fallen for four days in a row after rising for the seven days before that. Silver fell 1 cent to $17.31 an ounce. Copper rose 2 cents to $2.14 a pound.

OVERSEAS: Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.6 percent and Germany's DAX was also 0.6 percent higher. France's CAC 40 rose 0.3 percent. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong picked up 0.6 percent and South Korea's Kospi rose 0.5 percent while Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.6 percent.

CURRENCIES and BONDS: The British pound gave up most of an early gain, edging up to $1.4691 from $1.4663 a day earlier. The dollar declined to 104.39 yen from 104.76 yen. The euro rose to $1.1303 from $1.1257. U.S. government bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.69 percent from 1.71 percent.