Stocks declined on Wednesday, extending the previous session's losses as investors were concerned about rising bond yields. Tech names were the led decliners throughout the session, pulling both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq lower, while the Dow slightly dipped near its session low.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield resumed its recent gains on Wednesday, with the benchmark rate climbing more than 8 basis points to a high of 1.49% before retreating slightly.
U.S. private employers added fewer-than-expected jobs in February, according to the ADP's monthly employment report. Payrolls grew by 117,000 last month, following an upwardly revised gain of 195,000 in January. Consensus economists had forecasted a rise of 205,000 payrolls for February.
Meanwhile, U.S. service sector activity unexpected slowed in February, according to the Institute of Supply Management's monthly survey. The service sector purchasing managers' index PMI ticked down to 55.3 in February from 58.7 in January, which had been the highest level since early 2019. Readings about the neutral level of 50.0 indicate expansion of a sector.
Here's how the market settled on Wednesday:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): -1.30% or -50.46 points to 3,819.83
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): -0.38% or -119.08 points
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): -2.70% or -361.04 points to 12,997.75
For Stocks, reopening names like American Airlines (NASDAQ: AAL) and Carnival Cruise (NYSE: CCL) rose following President Joe Biden's announcement that the U.S. will have enough coronavirus vaccines to inoculate every adult in the United States by the end of May. Rocket Companies (NYSE: RKT) shares dropped nearly 33% on Wednesday after a surprise rally in the previous session led by Reddit retail investors pushed shares up over 70%.
For Sector Performance, sectors on the S&P 500 ended mostly lower on Wednesday, with only Industrials (NYSE: XLI), Financials (NYSE: XLF) and Energy (NYSE: XLE) closing in positive territory. Losses were led by Consumer Discretionary (NYSE: XLY) and Information Technology (NYSE: XLK) falling over 2%, and Materials (NYSE: XLB), Real Estate (NYSE: XLRE), Utilities (NYSE: XLU), Health Care (NYSE: XLV) and Communication Services (NYSE: XLC) falling over 1%.
For Commodities and Currency, the U.S. Dollar (NYSE: UUP) gained on Wednesday as investors bet for strong U.S. growth compared to other global regions. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six other rival currencies, rose 0.22% higher at 90.997. Gold (NYSE: GLD) prices declined to their lowest levels in nearly nine months on Wednesday as rising U.S. Treasury yields and a stronger dollar pressured the metal's inflation hedge appeal. Spot gold fell 1.2% to $1,717.67 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures settled 1% lower at $1,715.80 per ounce. Crude oil futures climbed higher on Wednesday as investors bet that OPEC+ producers may decide against easing supply cuts at the group's meeting this week. International benchmark Brent Crude (NYSE: BNO) rose 2.8% to $64.45 per barrel, while domestic index West Texas Intermediate (NYSE: USO) was up 2.56% at $61.28 each.
For Thursday, market participants will turn their attention to fresh data for weekly unemployment claims, as well as remarks from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at the Wall Street Journal Jobs Summit.