WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After trending higher over the past several sessions, stocks saw an initial pullback on Wednesday but regained ground over the course of the trading day. The major averages climbed well off their lows of the session, although they still closed in negative territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day down 61.20 points or 0.2 percent to 27,538.69 after slumping by as much as 0.9 percent in early trading. The S&P 500 also dipped 17.16 points or 0.2 percent to 7,801.77, while the narrower Dow slid 341.41 points or 0.7 percent to 51,179.87.
The early weakness on Wall Street may partly have reflected profit taking following the recent strength, which came amid easing concerns about the Federal Reserve once again raising interest rates later this month.
The major averages had closed higher for four consecutive sessions, lifting the Nasdaq and S&P 500 to new record highs.
A rebound by treasury yields also weighed on stocks, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year bouncing back to its highest levels since 2002 following a pullback on Tuesday.
However, treasury yields showed a notable recovery attempt over the course of the session, easing the selling pressure on Wall Street.
Yields pulled back well off their highs of the session after the Treasury Department revealed this month's auction of $39 billion worth of ten-year notes attracted well above average demand.
The recovery attempt on Wall Street also came amid a significant downturn by the price of crude oil, with U.S. crude oil futures falling by 0.5 percent after jumping as much as 1.7 percent.
Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting, which confirmed most officials expect to once again raise interest rates before the end of the year.
The Fed said, 'Most participants assessed that another increase in the target range for the federal funds rate would likely be appropriate by year end.'
The minutes did not provide further insight about the timing of the rate hike and said officials emphasized 'that they approached each meeting with an open mind and decisions at future meetings would depend on incoming information and its implications for the outlook and the balance of risks.'
Sector News
Despite the recovery attempt by the broader markets, gold stocks continued to see substantial weakness amid a steep drop by the price of the precious metal.
Reflecting the weakness in the sector, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index plunged by 3.5 percent to a two-month closing low.
Significant weakness also remained visible among brokerage stocks, with the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index tumbling by 2.6 percent.
Housing, oil service and airline stocks also saw considerable weakness, while pharmaceutical stocks showed a strong move to the upside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slid by 0.9 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by 0.6 percent.
The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day, While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index declined by 0.8 percent, the French CAC 40 Index slumped by 1.2 percent and the German DAX Index tumbled by 1.4 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries climbed well off their lows of the session after an early slump. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, has risen 1.5 basis points to 5.286 percent after surging to a high of 5.365 percent.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
