WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - U.S. stocks closed weak on Wednesday amid uncertainty about the near-term outlook following recent gains that lifted the two of the major averages - the Dow and the S&P 500 - to record highs.
Investors digested the latest set of economic data and assessed the central bank's rate cut trajectory.
The Dow ended down 293.47 points or 0.7 percent at 41,914.75, snapping a four-session winning streak. The S&P 500 settled lower by 10.67 points or 0.19 percent at 5,722.26, while the Nasdaq closed up 7.68 points or 0.04 percent at 18,082.21.
On the economic front, data from the Commerce Department showed new home sales pulled back sharply in the month of August, plunging by 4.7 percent to an annual rate of 716,000, after soaring by 10.3% to a revised rate of 751,000 in July.
Economists had expected new home sales to tumble by 5.3% to a rate of 700,000 from the 739,000 originally reported for the previous month.
Data on weekly jobless claims, durable goods orders and personal income and spending are due this week. Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech on Thursday is also in focus.
Amgen dropped nearly 5.5 percent. Goldman Sachs, Pfizer, Wells Fargo, Caterpillar, Chevron Corporation, Johnson & Johnson, Exxon Mobil Corporation and Visa Inc. also ended notably lower.
Nvidia Corporation climbed more than 2 percent, extending gains from the previous session. Tesla, Walmart, AMD, Salesforce, T-Mobile, United Parcel Service, Starbucks Corporation and Micron Technology also posted strong gains.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index dipped by 0.2 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index jumped by 1.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the downside on the day. The Stoxx 600 ended down 0.11 percent. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropped 0.17 percent, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 lost 0.41 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries came under pressure after ending the previous session roughly flat. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, gained 3.795 percent.
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