United States stocks declined on Wednesday in a session marked by light trading, as investors took profits following robust gains in November.
The S&P 500 fell 0.4% to close at 5,998.7, snapping a seven-day winning streak. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.6% to 19,060.5, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.3%, to finish at 44,722.1.
Profit-taking in high-performing technology stocks contributed to the Nasdaq's underperformance. Nvidia, which has surged over 173% this year, declined 1.2%.
Similarly, Meta Platforms slid 0.8%. Weak earnings guidance weighed heavily on Dell and HP, which fell more than 12.3% and 11.4%, respectively.
The declines coincided with the release of the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index data, a key inflation gauge for the Federal Reserve. The PCE rose 0.2% in October and 2.3% on an annual basis, aligning with expectations.
Excluding food and energy, core PCE increased 0.3% month-on-month and 2.8% year-on-year, also meeting forecasts.
With markets closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday and set for an early close on Friday, trading volumes on the New York Stock Exchange were about 20% below average.
Despite Wednesday’s pullback, U.S. indices have achieved notable gains this week. Both the Dow and the S&P 500 reached all-time highs, with the Dow tracking a 1% weekly gain and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq up 0.5% and 0.3%, respectively.
November has proven to be a standout month for the markets, driven by optimism following President-elect Donald Trump’s victory. The Dow is poised for its largest monthly gain of 2024, up more than 7%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have each risen over 5%.
On the bond markets, 10-year and 2-year yields were at multi-week lows of 4.261% and 4.231%, respectively.