The Dow slid 267.58 points (0.6%) to 43,449.90, the Nasdaq dipped 64.83 points (0.3%) to 20,109.06 and the S&P 500 fell 23.47 points (0.4%) to 6,050.61.
Stocks across multiple sectors experienced significant losses on Wednesday, with networking, semiconductor and financial indices falling sharply. The NYSE Arca Networking Index tumbled 2.2% while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped 1.6%. Financial stocks also struggled with broker/dealer and bank indices declining 1.5%. Telecom, housing and steel stocks further contributed to the market's negative sentiment. However, pharmaceutical stocks provided a bright spot, driven by Pfizer's impressive 4.7% surge after releasing promising 2025 revenue projections that met market expectations.
The Federal Reserve is expected to cut rates by a quarter point on Wednesday, with markets closely watching economic projections amid concerns about potential slower rate reductions in 2025, influenced by sticky inflation and stronger-than-expected November retail sales data.
Asia-Pacific stocks turned in a mixed performance. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index dipped by 0.2% and China's Shanghai Composite Index slid by 0.7%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced by 0.8%. European stocks moved mostly lower. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slumped by 0.8% and the German DAX Index fell by 0.3%, although the French CAC 40 Index bucked the downtrend and inched up by 0.1%.
In the bond market, treasuries saw modest strength after ending the previous session roughly flat. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, edged down by 1.2 bps to 4.38%.
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