WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After weighing on the markets during Tuesday's session, technology stocks showed another significant move to the downside during trading on Wednesday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq slumped to its lowest closing level in over a month after flirting with its record highs just a week.
The Nasdaq ended the day off its lows of the session but still tumbled 350.61 points or 1.5 percent to 22,904.58. The S&P 500 also slid 35.09 points or 0.5 percent to 6,882.72, while the narrower Dow climbed 260.31 points or 0.5 percent to 49,501.30.
The advance by the Dow came amid a sharp increase by shares of Amgen (AMGN), as the biotech company spiked by 8.2 percent after reporting better than expected fourth quarter results.
3M (MMM) and Nike (NKE) also surged by more than 5 percent, contributing to the rebound by the blue chip index.
Meanwhile, traders continued to rotate out of the tech sector, with semiconductor stocks showing a substantial move to the downside.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged by 4.4 percent, pulling back further off the record closing high set last Thursday.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) helped lead the sector lower, plummeting by 17.3 percent after reporting better than expected fourth quarter results but providing first quarter guidance that disappointed some analysts.
Computer hardware and networking stocks also saw considerable weakness, resulting in the steep drop by the Nasdaq.
On the other hand, pharmaceutical stocks saw significant strength on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index up by 3.1 percent.
Energy, housing and airline stocks also moved notably higher, helping to partly offset the weakness in the tech sector.
In U.S. economic news, payroll processor ADP released a report showing private sector employment in the U.S. increased by much less than expected in the month of January.
ADP said private sector employment rose by 22,000 jobs in January after climbing by a downwardly revised 37,000 jobs in December.
Economists had expected private sector employment to grow by 45,000 jobs compared to the addition of 41,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
A separate report released by the Institute for Supply Management showed its reading on U.S. service sector activity came in unchanged in the month of January.
The ISM said its services PMI came in at 53.8 in January, unchanged from a revised reading in December. A reading above 50 indicates growth in the sector.
Economists had expected the services PMI to edge down to 53.5 from the 54.4 originally reported for the previous month.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index decreased by 0.8 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index advanced by 0.9 percent.
The major European markets also ended the day mixed. While the German DAX Index fell by 0.5 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.9 percent and the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1.0 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries showed a lack of direction before closing roughly flat for the second straight day. The yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, crept up by less than a basis point to 4.275 percent.
Looking Ahead
Trading on Thursday may be impacted by reaction to earnings news from Alphabet (GOOGL), with the Google parent among the companies releasing their quarterly results after the close of today's trading.
Traders are also likely to keep an eye on the latest U.S. economic data, including reports on job openings and weekly jobless claims.
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