WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Following the modest pullback seen during Tuesday's session, stocks saw further downside during the trading day on Wednesday.
The major averages regained some ground after an early tumble but still all ended the day in negative territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the way lower, slumping 238.12 points or 1.0 percent to 23,471.75. The S&P 500 also fell 37.14 points or 0.5 percent to 6,926.60, while the Dow edged down 42.36 points or 0.1 percent to 49,149.63.
The weakness on Wall Street may partly have reflected growing concerns about rising geopolitical tensions around the world.
President Donald Trump's threats to take control of Greenland have made headlines recently, while traders are also keeping an eye on political unrest in Iran and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
A slump by shares of Wells Fargo (WFC) also weighed on the markets, as the financial services giant plunged by 4.6 percent.
Wells Fargo came under pressure after the company reported better than expected fourth quarter earnings but weaker than expected revenues.
Shares of Bank of America (BAC) also tumbled by 3.8 percent even though the company reported fourth quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates.
Citigroup (C) also showed a significant move to the downside even though the company reported better than expected fourth quarter results.
On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing retail sales in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the month of November.
The Commerce Department said retail sales climbed by 0.6 percent in November after edging down by a revised 0.1 percent in October.
Economists had expected retail sales to rise by 0.4 percent compared to the unchanged reading originally reported for the previous month.
Excluding sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales grew by 0.5 percent in November after inching up by 0.2 percent in October. Ex-auto sales were expected to increase by 0.4 percent.
A separate report released by the Labor Department showed a modest increase by U.S. producer prices in the month of November.
Sector News
Software stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day, dragging the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index down by 2.4 percent to its lowest closing level in eight months.
Considerable weakness was also visible among networking stocks, as reflected by the 1.6 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Networking Index.
Airline and retail stocks also saw notable weakness on the day, while energy stocks saw significant strength.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.5 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed by 0.6 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index dipped by 0.2 percent and the German DAX Index fell by 0.5 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries saw further upside after ending the previous session modestly higher. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell 3.1 basis points to 4.140 percent.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
