Stocks ended lower on Wall Street Wednesday, breaking a four-day winning streak but keeping major indexes in the green so far for the week. Energy stocks rose along with oil prices. The S&P 500 fell 29.15 points, or 0.6%, to 4,602.45. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 65.38 points, or 0.2%, to 35,228.81. The Nasdaq fell 177.36 points, or 1.2%, to 14,442.27. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 42.03 points, or 2%, to 2,091.07. Markets rose earlier this week as talks between Russia and Ukraine seemed to show progress, but the prospects for ending the war in Ukraine remain highly uncertain.
Russian shelling in areas where it had said it would pull back tempered optimism about prospects for a resolution to the conflict. On Wednesday, an adviser to Ukraine’s president said that a vote sealing a prospective agreement with Russia could only be held after Russian troops pull back. Investors were also hit with potentially discouraging update on economic growth, the AP reports. The Commerce Department said the US economy grew at an annual pace of 6.9% from October through December. That was slower than previous estimates and fell short of economists' expectations.
Technology stocks were among the biggest weights on the market. Retailers also fell. Home Depot slipped 3.2%. Investors have several more economic updates to review this week. On Thursday, the Commerce Department will release its personal income and spending report for February and the Labor Department on Friday will release is employment report for March. Wall Street is also preparing for the latest round of corporate report cards as the quarter comes to a close. Several companies have already released financial results and updates. Lululemon jumped 11.7% after reporting encouraging financial results for its most recent quarter and giving a strong sales forecast. (More stock market stories.)
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