S&P 500 falls for a fourth day, Nasdaq posts back-to-back losses as tech names slide

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite dipped on Wednesday, pressured by a broad decline in tech. Investors also weighed mixed retail earnings results and the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting minutes release.

The broad market index slipped 0.24% to close at 6,395.78, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.67% and settled at 21,172.86. Wednesday marked a fourth day of losses for the S&P 500 and a second negative session for the Nasdaq. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the outlier, adding 16.04 points, or 0.04%, and settling at 44,938.31.

Investors continued to take profits from several heavyweight technology and semiconductor names, fanning concerns about their high valuations and the strength of the artificial intelligence trade longer term. Nvidia ended the session marginally lower, while Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom each lost around 1%. Shares of Palantir declined about 1%, and Intel dropped about 7%. Mega-cap tech companies Apple, Amazon, Alphabet and Meta Platforms also declined.

“It’s not a surprise to see some investors taking profits in tech stocks, which have had an incredibly strong run – with some up over 80% since the early April lows. Market volume in general is typically quite sparse in late August leading to wider swings than fundamentals would warrant,” said Carol Schleif, chief market strategist at BMO Private Wealth.