The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 closed lower on Wednesday, pulling back from record highs as automakers tumbled.
The Dow fell 293.47 points, or 0.70%, to end at 41,914.75, marking the end of its four-day winning streak. The S&P 500 dipped 0.19%, closing at 5,722.26. Despite hitting new intraday highs, both indices retreated by the session's end. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite managed a modest gain of 0.04%, finishing at 18,082.21.
General Motors and Ford were among the notable laggards, with both automakers seeing their shares decline by over 4% after downgrades from Morgan Stanley. Amgen also weighed heavily on the Dow, falling 5.5%.
Overall, nine of the eleven sectors in the S&P 500 ended in negative territory, led by energy as U.S. crude oil prices fell. Chevron shares dropped more than 2%.
In contrast, technology stocks provided a bright spot. Hewlett Packard Enterprise advanced more than 5% following an upgrade from Barclays, which pointed to strong demand for AI-powered data centers.
Nvidia continued its upward trajectory, rising 2.2%, which pushed its market capitalization beyond $3 trillion.
Despite the day’s losses, all three major indices remain on track for positive performance in September. However, concerns about a slowing economy linger, particularly in the wake of last week's interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
Among economic data, new home sales slipped by 4.7% in August, reaching 716,000 units, down from the revised July figure of 751,000.
Investors are now looking ahead to weekly jobless claims data due on Thursday for further insight into the labor market’s condition.
On the bond markets, 10-year rates were at 3.791% and 2-year rates were at 3.561%.