(Sharecast News) - Wall Street stocks closed in the red on Wednesday, but off earlier lows, after a number of data points were released earlier in the session.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.14% at 30,273.87, while the S&P 500 lost 0.2% to 3,783.28 and the Nasdaq Composite was off 0.25% at 11,148.64.
The Dow closed 42.45 points lower on Wednesday, taking a chunk out of solid gains recorded over the preceding two days.
"There is less chatter about a potential "pivot" from the Federal Reserve and as a result, yields are up, and equities are down," said Equiti Capital market analyst David Madden.
"It is fair to say that profit taking is playing a role in equities sell off too as the indices saw major rallies in the previous two sessions."
There were a number of data points released through the course of the day, with the first cab off the rank being US mortgage applications.
They fell 14.2% week-on-week in the seven days ended 30 September, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Elsewhere, the US private sector added more jobs than expected in September, according to the latest data from ADP.
Employment rose by 208,000, versus expectations for a 200,000 jump and up from a revised 185,000 in August.
On another note, the US trade deficit narrowed to $67.4bn in August, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, slightly below market forecasts for a print of $67.7bn and the lowest reading seen since May 2021.
Imports declined 1.1% to $326.3bn, while exports fell at a much slower 0.3% clip to $258.9bn.
Still on data, S&P Global's US composite purchasing managers' index (PMI) was revised slightly higher to 49.5 in September, up from a preliminary reading of 49.3 and pointing to a much smaller contraction in private sector activity than August's print of 44.6.
Finally, the Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing PMI dipped from 56.9 in August to 56.7 in September, beating forecasts for a print of 56 and above its historical average of 55.
The drop was principally a result of a slowdown in business activity and new orders that offset the effects of improved employment and easing price pressures.
In equities, Eiger BioPharmaceuticals lost 5.01% after it said it would no longer seek emergency use authorisation from the FDA for its experimental treatments for Covid-19.
On the upside, potato peddler Lamb Weston added 4.19% after it beat expectations for first-quarter profit amid higher prices.
Consumer products firm Helen of Troy was ahead 3.44% after it too beat quarterly earnings expectations, although the maker of Braun and Honeywell household goods did lower its full-year outlook.
Reporting by Josh White at Sharecast.com. Additional reporting by Iain Gilbert.
Dow Jones - Risers
Nike Inc. (NKE) $91.10 2.78%
Visa Inc. (V) $187.67 1.09%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $526.79 0.75%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $158.53 0.57%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $41.99 0.41%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $233.82 0.34%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $156.23 0.32%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $239.09 0.25%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $146.40 0.21%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $125.74 0.19%
Dow Jones - Fallers
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $110.39 -2.11%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $309.06 -1.86%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $46.06 -1.20%
Boeing Co. (BA) $132.11 -1.05%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $39.39 -1.03%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $132.92 -0.99%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $56.24 -0.95%
American Express Co. (AXP) $144.37 -0.75%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $178.47 -0.70%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $129.21 -0.69%
S&P 500 - Risers
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $218.52 6.56%
Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) $41.57 6.26%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $9.72 5.19%
National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) $18.44 5.01%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $43.20 4.22%
Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (LW) $82.15 4.19%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $99.12 4.04%
Halliburton Co. (HAL) $29.25 3.98%
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $19.35 3.48%
Apache Corp. (APA) $40.52 3.47%
S&P 500 - Fallers
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $7.28 -9.45%
Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) $22.47 -6.38%
Sl Green Realty Corp. (SLG) $39.65 -4.34%
Carnival Corp. (CCL) $7.43 -4.25%
Essex Prty Trust Inc. (ESS) $236.35 -3.73%
Alliant Energy Corp. (LNT) $53.05 -3.56%
Sba Communications Corp. (SBAC) $282.88 -3.51%
Dominion Energy Inc. (D) $69.02 -3.48%
CMS Energy Corp. (CMS) $58.53 -3.38%
Svb Financial Group (SIVB) $364.12 -3.29%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $218.52 6.56%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $30.24 5.40%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $204.53 2.27%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $124.89 2.06%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $72.18 2.04%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $37.17 1.95%
Fiserv Inc. (FISV) $100.55 1.84%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $89.51 1.84%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $90.12 1.82%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $52.98 1.81%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $114.00 -3.55%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $240.81 -3.46%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $11.70 -3.23%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $68.29 -3.11%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $98.89 -3.05%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $17.32 -2.91%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $16.44 -2.83%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $15.03 -2.34%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $261.44 -2.15%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $395.99 -1.97%