NEW YORK: US stocks fell modestly on Wednesday after two days of pronounced gains, reported Xinhua.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 42.45 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 30,273.87. The S&P 500 declined 7.65 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 3,783.28. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 27.77 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 11,148.64.
Eight of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with utilities and real estate down 2.25 per cent and 1.9 per cent, respectively, leading the laggards. Energy rose 2.06 per cent, the best-performing group.
The above market moves followed a strong two-day run on Wall Street that saw the Dow rally more than 1,500 points over the previous two sessions, supported by market hopes that the Federal Reserve could pivot to a less aggressive stance sooner than expected.
Investors sifted through a batch of latest economic data. The Institute for Supply Management said Wednesday that US Services index stood at 56.7 per cent in September, slightly down from the 56.9 per cent recorded in the prior month. A reading above 50 per cent indicates the sector is generally expanding.
Payroll data company Automatic Data Processing reported that the US private sector added 208,000 jobs in September, topping market consensus.
The more closely-watched monthly employment situation report is due out on Friday.
Meanwhile US-listed Chinese companies traded roughly flat on Wednesday with five of the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P US Listed China 50 index ending the day on an upbeat note.
Shares of Trip.com Group and JD.com rose 5.4 per cent and 1.81 per cent, respectively, leading the advancers in the top 10 stocks.
Shares of NIO and BeiGene went down 4.12 per cent and 0.46 per cent, respectively, leading the laggards in the top 10 stocks.
The Cboe Volatility Index, widely considered the best fear gauge in the stock market, dipped 1.79 per cent to 28.55.
As of Tuesday, the S&P US Listed China 50 index, which is designed to track the performance of the 50 largest Chinese companies listed on US exchanges by total market cap, stood at 2,520.4, marking a 5.72-per cent increase for the month-to-date returns and a 15.38-per cent loss for the year-to-date returns.-Bernama
