S&P Falls for 4th Day, NASDAQ Posts Back-to-Back Losses

The S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite dipped on Wednesday, pressured by a broad decline in tech. Investors also weighed mixed retail earnings results and the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting minutes release.

The Dow Jones Industrials recovered 16.04 points to 44,938.31.

The broader index drifted lower 15.59 points to 6,395/78.

The NASDAQ dwindled 142.10 points to 21,172.86.

Wednesday marked a fourth day of losses for the S&P 500 and a second negative session for the NASDAQ.

Investors continued to take profits from several heavyweight technology and semiconductor names, fanning concerns about their high valuations and the strength of the artificial intelligence trade longer term.

Nvidia ended the session marginally lower, while Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom each lost around 1%. Shares of Palantir declined about 1%, and Intel dropped about 7%.

Mega-cap tech companies Apple, Amazon, Alphabet and Meta Platforms also declined.

On the earnings front, Target shares dropped more than 8% — making the stock the S&P 500's worst performer — after the retailer reported another decline in sales and announced a new CEO who will step into the role on Feb. 1.

Lowe’s, meanwhile, edged higher after the home improvement retailer’s earnings beat expectations.

Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting released Wednesday showed that central bankers expressed concerns about the state of the labor market and inflation, though most agreed that it was too soon to lower interest rates.

At the time, policymakers once more held steady on interest rates, but Fed Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman dissented, marking the first time two voting Fed officials have done so since 1993.

That comes ahead of remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Friday, which investors will monitor for insights into the path of interest rates. Fed funds futures are pricing in a nearly 85% likelihood of the central bank cutting interest rates at its next meeting in September.

Prices for 10-year Treasury gained ground Wednesday, lowering yields to 4.29% from Tuesday’s 4.31%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices gained 86 cents to $63.21 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices recovered $29.80 cents at $3,388.50 U.S. an ounce.