WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After coming under pressure over the course of the previous session, stocks are seeing further downside during trading on Wednesday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is once again posting a particularly steep loss, although the S&P 500 and the Dow have also moved lower.
Currently, the major averages are at or near their lows of the session. The Nasdaq is down 399.94 points or 1.9 percent at 20,915.01, the S&P 500 is down 65.34 points or 1.0 percent at 6,346.03 and the Dow is down 133.49 points or 0.3 percent at 44,788.78.
The weakness on Wall Street comes as technology stocks are extending the sell-off seen in Tuesday's session, as reflected by the slump by the Nasdaq.
Semiconductor stocks are turning in some of the tech sector's worst performances, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunging by 2.9 percent.
Nvidia (NVDA) has helped to lead the sector lower once again, tumbling by 3.4 percent to its lowest intraday level in almost a month.
Considerable weakness is also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 2.9 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.
Outside of the tech sector, airline and brokerage stocks are seeing notable weakness, while gold stocks have shown a strong move to the upside along with the price of the precious metal.
The extended pullback by stocks also comes as traders look ahead to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's highly anticipated speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium on Friday.
Powell's remarks could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Fed's next monetary policy meeting in September.
CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating an 84.8 percent chance the Fed will lower rates by a quarter point next month.
Later this afternoon, the Fed is due to release the minutes of its July monetary policy meeting, when the central bank decided to leave interest rates unchanged in a split decision.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.5 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index jumped by 1.0 percent.
The major European markets have also turned mixed on the day. While the German DAX Index is down by 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is just above the unchanged line and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 1.1 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved modestly higher, extending the rebound seen in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 1.1 basis points at 4.291 percent.
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