Wall Street ended mixed overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average extending its record run while technology stocks dragged the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 lower ahead of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy announcement.
The Dow rose 328.64 points, or 0.64%, to a fresh closing high of 51,999.67, marking its second consecutive record finish. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 slipped 0.57% to 7,511.35 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.15% to 26,376.34.
The pullback came a day after strong gains fuelled by optimism surrounding a preliminary US-Iran peace agreement. Investors rotated out of richly valued technology shares and into economically sensitive sectors, with financial stocks gaining 1.5% and industrials advancing 0.7%.
Technology was the weakest-performing sector, dropping 2.3%, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged 5.7% after a three-session rally.
Market participants remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s first policy meeting under chairman Kevin Warsh. The central bank is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged at 3.50%-3.75%, although investors will closely monitor Warsh’s comments on inflation and the economic outlook.
Oil prices fell 5.8% to their lowest level since early March after additional details emerged regarding a proposed US-Iran agreement, easing concerns over supply disruptions and inflation pressures.
Among individual stocks, SpaceX rose 4.8% and briefly surpassed Microsoft in market value during morning trading, ending the session above Amazon to become the fifth-most valuable US company.
Elsewhere, chemical producer Olin fell 5.9% after announcing a US$2.43 billion all-stock acquisition of Huntsman, whose shares tumbled 17%.
Yum Brands gained 1.9% after announcing plans to sell its Pizza Hut chain for US$2.7 billion amid intense competition and weaker consumer spending.
Reuters
