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Stocks fell Wednesday, continuing the sluggish start to September, as concerns mounted that the Federal Reserve may not be done hiking interest rates.
The Dow Jones Industrials dumped 198.47 points by lunch time Wednesday at 34,442.50.
The S&P 500 index slid 36.92 points to 4,459.91.
The NASDAQ index reversed 158.87 points, or 1.1%, to 13,862.08.
Pressured by rates, technology stocks underperformed. The biggest laggards included Nvidia and Tesla, falling about 3% each. Apple dropped roughly 3%, weighing on the Dow. Merck, Johnson & Johnson and Amgen also contributed to the losses, falling more than 1% each.
GameStop, American Eagle Outfitters and ChargePoint are among stocks slated to report earnings after the bell.
On the economic front, the prices component of the ISM services index rose 2.1 percentage points to 58.9% in August, representing the share of companies reporting increases as well a four-month high.
That follows the prices component of the ISM manufacturing index jumping 5.8 points to 48.4%. While readings below 50% represent contraction in the ISM survey, the big one-month jump is a reversal from the recent trend. The prices paid component also rose slightly more than expected, further fueling rate hike fears.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury were mildly lower, raising yields to 4.29% from Tuesday’s 4.27%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices took on 78 cents to $86.97 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $10.60 to $1,942.00U.S. an ounce.
