Dow and S&P 500 slide after hitting new records

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 both slipped on Wednesday, retreating from their recent record highs.

The S&P 500 dropped 0.19 per cent to close at 5,722.26, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 293.47 points, or 0.70 per cent, ending at 41,914.75. Both indexes touched fresh intraday records in early trading before the Dow snapped its four-day winning streak. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite managed a slight gain of 0.04 per cent, closing at 18,082.21.

Nine out of the 11 sectors in the S&P 500 closed in negative territory, led by energy, as U.S. crude oil futures fell. Tech and Utilities both closed 0.5 per cent higher.

Turning to company news, General Motors and Ford both fell over 4 per cent after downgrades from Morgan Stanley. A 5.5 per cent decline in Amgen also weighed heavily on the Dow. Chevron shares were down more than 2 per cent.

Technology stocks were a bright spot in the market. Hewlett Packard Enterprise surged over 5 per cent following an upgrade from Barclays, which pointed to strong demand for AI data centres as a key growth driver. Nvidia also rose 2.2 per cent, pushing its market capitalisation past the $3 trillion mark.

Despite the day’s losses, all three major indexes are on track for a positive September, though concerns about a slowing economy persist following last week’s Federal Reserve rate cut. The central bank’s decision to lower interest rates has thus far helped the S&P 500 defy what is typically a challenging month for stocks.

With the Fed now actively reducing rates, investors are increasingly shifting their focus to the broader economy.

In economic news, new home sales fell 4.7 per cent in August to 716,000, down from July's revised figure of 751,000. Investors are also awaiting weekly jobless claims data set to be released on Thursday.

Futures

The SPI futures are pointing to a 0.2 per cent gain.

Currency

One Australian dollar at 7.30am was buying 68.24 US cents.

Commodities

Gold added 0.29 per cent. Silver lost 1.27 per cent. Copper slipped 0.04 per cent. Oil dropped 2.61 per cent.

Figures around the globe

European markets closed lower. London’s FTSE fell 0.17 per cent, Frankfurt lost 0.41 per cent, and Paris closed 0.50 per cent lower.

Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 0.19 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.68 per cent, while China’s Shanghai Composite closed 1.16 per cent higher.

Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.19 per cent lower at 8126.

Ex-dividends
Garda Diversified Property Fund (ASX:GDF) is paying 1.575 cents 12.5 per cent franked
PRL Global Ltd (ASX:PRG) is paying 3 cents fully franked
Garda Diversified Property Fund (ASX:GDF) is paying 0.225 cents 12.5 per cent franked
Shine Justice Ltd (ASX:SHJ) is paying 4 cents unfranked
Vulcan Steel (ASX:VSL) is paying 11.8066 cents 94.93 per cent franked

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