U.S. stocks closed weaker on Wednesday, reflecting uncertainty about the near-term outlook after recent gains propelled the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 to record highs.
Investors evaluated the latest economic data and the central bank's potential interest rate cut trajectory.
The Dow fell 293.47 points, or 0.7%, to 41,914.75, breaking a four-session winning streak. The S&P 500 declined 10.67 points, or 0.19%, to 5,722.26, while the Nasdaq inched up 7.68 points, or 0.04%, to close at 18,082.21.
On the economic front, the Commerce Department reported a sharp decline in new home sales for August, with a 4.7% drop to an annual rate of 716,000, following a revised 10.3% increase to 751,000 in July. Economists had projected a 5.3% decrease to a rate of 700,000, down from the initially reported 739,000 for the prior month.
This week's agenda includes data on weekly jobless claims, durable goods orders, personal income, and spending. Additionally, Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech on Thursday is highly anticipated.
Among individual stocks, Amgen dropped nearly 5.5%, while Goldman Sachs, Pfizer, Wells Fargo, Caterpillar, Chevron Corporation, Johnson & Johnson, Exxon Mobil, and Visa Inc. also saw significant declines. Conversely, Nvidia Corporation climbed over 2%, continuing its upward momentum from the previous session. Tesla, Walmart, AMD, Salesforce, T-Mobile, United Parcel Service, Starbucks, and Micron Technology also posted robust gains.
In overseas markets, Asia-Pacific indices exhibited mixed results. Japan's Nikkei 225 dipped 0.2%, whereas China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 1.2%.
European markets ended the day mostly lower. The Stoxx 600 dipped 0.11%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 fell 0.17%, Germany's DAX dropped 0.41%, and France's CAC 40 declined by 0.5%.
In the bond market, U.S. treasuries faced pressure after remaining relatively unchanged in the previous session. Consequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves inversely to its price, increased to 3.795%.
