NEW YORK - Wall Street stocks slumped for a second straight session on Wednesday as declines in Apple and other large tech companies weighed on the broader market.
“There’s a bit of a malaise that we’re seeing today,” said Mr Steve Sosnick, of Interactive Brokers.
Services sector data showed a surprising increase in activity in August, while the Federal Reserve’s “beige book” described US growth as “modest” over the summer.
Mr Sosnick said the market was struggling to gain traction amid “a general feeling that we’ve come a long way and we don’t have a lot of positive catalysts right now.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.6 per cent at 34,443.19.
The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.7 per cent to 4,465.48, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 1.1 per cent to 13,872.47.
Apple shares fell 3.6 per cent following a Wall Street Journal report that China barred the use of its smartphones in central government agencies.
Apple also found itself in the crosshairs of a new European Union policy to toughen regulation of large tech names. Shares in other US giants such as Amazon, Google parent Alphabet and Facebook owner Meta also fell.
Southwest Airlines dropped 2.6 per cent as it lowered its projection for a key revenue benchmark in the third quarter and said jet fuel costs had risen compared with a prior estimate.
Energy company Enbridge fell 5.9 per cent after agreeing to buy three gas utilities from Dominion Energy for US$14 billion (S$19 billion), including the assumption of US$4.6 billion in debt. Dominion shares ended 1.8 per cent lower. AFP
