Chip East/Reuters
- Major indexes fell Wednesday, stretching losses from the previous day's session.
- The Nasdaq Composite slipped from record highs notched on Tuesday.
- A report from the Fed said the central bank was observing a slight slowdown in economic activity.
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US stocks closed lower Wednesday as investors assess more signs of a slowdown in the economy's recovery following a pandemic-led recession last year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added to losses from the previous session and Nasdaq Composite declined from Tuesday's record high.
The Federal Reserve in its so-called Beige Book report Wednesday afternoon said there's been a slight deceleration in economic activity from the moderate pace of recovery in early July through August. Stock investors have been showing some caution after last week's US August jobs report, with the 235,000 payroll additions falling fall far short of expectations.
Here's where US indexes stood at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday:
- S&P 500: 4,514.07, down 0.13%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 35,031.07, down 0.2% (68.93 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 15,286.64, down 0.57%
The Fed's report, which characterizes changes in economic conditions across its 12 districts, said the deceleration was largely attributable to a pullback in dining out, travel, and tourism, reflecting safety concerns due to the rise of the Delta variant of the coronavirus.
The Fed will hold a two-day meeting starting on September 21 and will release its summary of economic projections, or its dot-plot chart of interest-rate expectations.
Around the markets, Coinbase shares fell, with the Securities and Exchange Commission planning to sue the crypto exchange if it releases its lending product, a move that led CEO Brian Armstrong to complain about the regulator's "sketchy behavior".
Globalstar soared on ongoing speculation that its satellite communication technology may be included in Apple's new iPhone models.
Gold fell 0.2% to $1,789.73 per ounce. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.33%.
Oil prices climbed. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.5% to $69.34 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, gained 1.3%, to $72.65 per barrel.
Bitcoin fell by 1% to $46,326.77 after plunging Tuesday during El Salvador's rocky rollout of the cryptocurrency as legal tender.