Nasdaq ends down 1% as tech shares fall; Treasury auction weak

NEW YORK – US stocks ended lower on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq falling 1% as technology shares declined and weak demand in a 10-year Treasury auction stoked investor jitters in choppy trade.

Indexes started the day higher with a surge in tech shares, and both began to lose steam in afternoon trading. With investors still nervous after a recent steep selloff in global stocks, equities pared gains further after the Treasury auction.

All three indexes went red, and losses steepened just before the close. The S&P 500 technology index ended down 1.4% and was the biggest drag on the benchmark index.

“There’s just a lot to worry about over the next eight weeks or so, so I’m expecting more volatility. I wouldn’t be surprised if after a few days of rally you have another small selloff,” said Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Counsel in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Investors have been worried about a possible US recession and weaker forecasts from some big US companies, among other factors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 234.21 points, or 0.6%, to 38,763.45, the S&P 500 lost 40.53 points, or 0.77%, to 5,199.5 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 171.05 points, or 1.05%, to 16,195.81.

Lindsey Bell, chief strategist at 248 Ventures in Charlotte, North Carolina, said investors also may be taking profits after Tuesday’s rebound in stocks.

“You don’t just have the fall we had on Monday and it’s done. You typically test the lows again before we can move out of this downtrend,” she said.

On Monday, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 fell at least 3% each.

Stocks got early support Wednesday following comments from Bank of Japan (BOJ) Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida that the central bank would not raise rates when financial markets are unstable.

The BOJ’s surprise rate hike on July 31 to a level unseen in 15 years had sparked a global stocks rout as investors unwound their sharp yen carry trade positions following a surge in the low-yielding currency, widely used for acquiring high-yielding assets.

Shares of Walt Disney fell 4.5% as it predicted a “moderation in demand” at its theme park business in the coming quarters.

Super Micro Computer shares dropped 20.1% after it reported quarterly adjusted gross margins below estimates. Rival Dell Technologies dropped 4.9%.

Markets await more commentary on monetary policy from US central bank officials next week, in the run-up to the Jackson Hole, Wyoming, event where Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak.

Volume on US exchanges was 12.93 billion shares, compared with the 12.63 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.48-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.08-to-1 ratio favored decliners.

The S&P 500 posted 16 new 52-week highs and 9 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 34 new highs and 195 new lows.

(Additional reporting by Shubham Batra and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru and Sinead Carew; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Shinjini Ganguli, and David Gregorio)