Nasdaq, S&P 500 end lower as investors sell tech, buy less pricey sectors
The Nasdaq and S&P 500 fell on Wednesday as investors sold tech stocks and moved into less highly valued sectors, as they also awaited remarks from Federal Reserve officials at their Jackson Hole symposium this week.
Tech stocks, which drove much of the recovery from Wall Street's April selloff, have been pulling back. The S&P 500 technology index trimmed early losses to end the session down 0.8%.
Seven of the 11 S&P 500 sectors rose, led by energy, healthcare and consumer staples.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 16.04 points, or 0.04%, to 44,938.31, the S&P 500 lost 15.59 points, or 0.24%, to 6,395.78 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 142.09 points, or 0.67%, to 21,172.86.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was relatively light, with 15.5 billion shares traded, compared to an average of 17.7 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions.
Analysts listing other factors behind the tech sell-off mentioned OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's comments last week about artificial intelligence stocks being "in a bubble," and a Massachusetts Institute of Technology study that showed many tech companies were struggling to translate AI into actual profits.
Some investors also worried about government interference in the private sector. President Donald Trump's administration is looking into taking equity stakes in chip firms such as Intel, weeks after unprecedented revenue-sharing deals with Nvidia and AMD.
Source : Reuters
