Stocks dropped on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average posting its worst session in more than a month, as market participants grew concerned the U.S. equity market may be overvalued. The 30-stock index fell over 400 points, while the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite lost 0.9% and 1.6%, respectively.

Here's how the market settled on Wednesday:

S&P 500 Index (SPY  ): -0.92% or -53.78 points to 5,797.42

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ): -0.96% or -409.94 points to 42,514.95

Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ  ): -1.60% or -296.48 points to 18,276.65

In Focus:

Wells Fargo Investment Institute President Darrell Cronk said in a Wednesday that the broader market is in for some near-term challenges before a potential rally next year.

"Our expectation is that equity markets may struggle to advance meaningfully past recent highs in the near term as economic, political, and geopolitical uncertainties persist," Cronk wrote. The firm's target range for the S&P 500 is between 5,300 to 5,500 for the year end.

"We would view periods of near-term weakness in equity markets as potential opportunities given our 2025 outlook, which forecasts a broad-based recovery that supports improved revenue growth and expanding margins." Cronk added.

On the Earnings Front:

Starbucks (SBUX  ) posted preliminary quarter results late Tuesday that showed same-store sales declining for the third consecutive quarter, falling 7% for the steepest decrease since the coronavirus pandemic. The company also withdrew its fiscal 2025 outlook.

"Our fourth quarter performance makes it clear that we need to fundamentally change our strategy so we can get back to growth and that's exactly what we are doing with our 'Back to Starbucks' plan," CEO Brian Niccol said in a statement, referring to his initiative to refocus the company.

AT&T (T  ) shares rose Wednesday after the telecom reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings. During the quarter, the company added 403,000 postpaid phone subscriptions and 226,000 new AT&T Fiber subscriptions -- marking the 19th straight quarter with net additions above 200,000.

The company also reiterated its full-year guidance, expecting annual wireless services and broadband revenue to increase roughly 3% and more than 7%, respectively.

Coca-Cola (KO  ) reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings on Wednesday, as higher prices helped offset waning demand. For 2024, Coke expects organic revenue growth of about 10%, on the high end of its previous range of 9% to 10%.

"We see us heading towards a more normalized level of pricing going into next year and landing in a more normal zone that tracks at similar rates to CPI," CEO James Quincey told analysts during the company's earnings call. "Of course, we continue to be very choiceful about where we invest for affordability options and where we invest for premiumization options."

Boeing (BA  ) reported a more than $6 billion loss in its third-quarter, building on its preliminary third-quarter results delivered earlier this month. The aerospace manufacturer's new CEO Kelly Ortberg told analysts during his first earnings call that the company is reviewing its segments as it works to recover from multiple headwinds.

"We need to know what's going on, not only with our products, but with our people," Ortberg said in remarks before the earnings call. "And most importantly, we need to prevent the festering of issues and work better together to identify, fix, and understand root cause."

In Economic News:

Existing U.S. Home Sales fell to their lowest level in almost 14 years in September as prices pressured would-be buyers, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Wednesday.

Sales declined to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 3.84 million last month, down from 1% from August and 4.2% annually -- its lowest sales level since October 2010. Moreover, first-time buyers represented 26% of the total, tied for the lowest level on record.

"Home sales have been essentially stuck at around a four-million-unit pace for the past 12 months, but factors usually associated with higher home sales are developing," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at NAR, in a statement. "There are more inventory choices for consumers, lower mortgage rates than a year ago and continued job additions to the economy. Perhaps, some consumers are hesitating about moving forward with a major expenditure like purchasing a home before the upcoming election."

For Thursday:

Analyst attention will turn towards earnings from companies including Tesla (TSLA  ), Honeywell (HON  ) and UPS (UPS  ) on Thursday, alongside October's U.S. services and manufacturing PMI readings and September's near home sales report.