As tech shares struggled and COVID-19 stimulus talks seem stymied, stocks fell on Wednesday, retreating from the record highs set earlier in the day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 105.07 points lower, or 0.35%, at 30,068.81. The S&P 500 fell 0.8% to 3,672.82. The Nasdaq Composite pulled back by 1.9% to close at 12,338.95. Earlier in the session, the Dow was up more than 100 points. All three averages also touched fresh intraday records.
Apple was among the worst-performing Dow components, falling more than 2%. Salesforce dropped 3.2%. The S&P 500 tech sector fell 1.9% to lead the index lower. Facebook declined 1.9% after the Federal Trade Commission, along with several states, filed lawsuits that could force the social media giant to divest Instagram and WhatsApp.
“The US fiscal stimulus process has turned somewhat acrimonious, but Congress has another 1.5 weeks to try and reach a compromise (as the budget deadline is about to get pushed” to Dec. 18, said Adam Crisafulli of Vital Knowledge.
MacDailyNews Take: Hopefully, the fiscal stimulus talks will gel as that will help many who are struggling as businesses are impacted by continuing COVID-19 shutdowns and restrictions. That, in turn, will help the economy, helping tech and other stocks, too.