U.S. equity markets finished the session in negative territory on Wednesday as weakness across the Industrials, Telecoms and Technology sectors pushed major indexes lower.
At the New York Stock Exchange close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.18% to a new 1-month low. The S&P 500 slipped 1.51%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.74%.
On the Dow, the best performers included Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM), which gained 3.83% or 6.96 points to finish at 188.46. Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) added 2.30% or 4.32 points to end the day at 191.90, and Walmart Inc (NASDAQ:WMT) rose 0.99% or 1.12 points to 114.22.
The index's largest decliners were Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), down 6.91% or 58.11 points to close at 782.74, Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), which lost 5.09% or 52.58 points to settle at 980.76, and NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), off 3.50% or 6.90 points to 190.11.
Within the S&P 500, some of the largest gains were concentrated among a handful of names. Garmin Ltd (NYSE:GRMN) climbed 16.23% to 294.83, GE HealthCare Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:GEHC) rose 12.17% to 71.91, and Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp Class A (NASDAQ:CTSH) added 11.29% to close at 55.99.
Conversely, Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS) was the S&P 500's biggest laggard, falling 11.10% to 72.56. KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) lost 11.00% to settle at 169.82, and Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) declined 10.07% to 737.88 at the close.
The Nasdaq Composite's top performers included several small-cap and micro-cap stocks that posted outsized percentage moves. Nocera Inc (NASDAQ:NCRA) rose 118.18% to 3.12, T3 Defense Inc (NASDAQ:DFNS) advanced 109.25% to 50.22, and Scisparc Ltd (NASDAQ:SPRC) gained 70.54% to finish at 9.09.
On the downside for Nasdaq listings, AiRWA Inc (NASDAQ:YYAI) fell 67.65% to 0.29, NIP Group Inc ADR (NASDAQ:NIPG) declined 40.65% to 9.01, and Moleculin Biotech Inc (NASDAQ:MBRX) dropped 37.90% to 1.36.
Decliners outnumbered advancers across both primary exchanges. On the NYSE, 1,869 stocks fell versus 857 advancers, with 84 issues unchanged. On the Nasdaq, 2,318 stocks lost ground, 1,072 advanced, and 189 were unchanged.
There were notable price milestones among individual issues. Shares of Garmin Ltd (NYSE:GRMN) rose to an all-time high, up 16.23% or 41.18 to 294.83. By contrast, AiRWA Inc (NASDAQ:YYAI) and Moleculin Biotech Inc (NASDAQ:MBRX) fell to all-time lows, with YYAI down 67.65% or 0.61 to 0.29 and MBRX down 37.90% or 0.83 to 1.36.
Market volatility increased: the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) rose 13.29% to 20.63, marking a one-month high.
Commodities moved higher on the session. Gold Futures for August delivery were up 0.38% or 15.40 to $4,054.10 a troy ounce. Crude oil futures for September delivery jumped 7.08% or 5.61 to $84.87 a barrel, while the October Brent contract rose 7.64% or 6.27 to trade at $88.35 a barrel.
In currency markets, EUR/USD strengthened by 0.58% to 1.15, while USD/JPY weakened by 0.16% to 163.55. The US Dollar Index Futures declined 0.49% to 100.77.
The session reflected broad-based selling pressure led by Industrials, Telecoms and Technology, a pickup in market volatility as measured by the VIX, and gains in commodity prices. Market breadth indicators and several large individual moves underscored the uneven nature of the trading day.