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us stock slide in early trading exist Wednesdayas wall street closed one Year driven by both optimism and uncertainty.
The S&P 500 fell 0.2%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average As of 10:00 a.m., it was down 111 points, or 0.2%. Eastern Time. this Nasdaq Composite Index It also fell 0.2%, extending the index’s three-day losing streak.
Trading is expected to be thin ahead of the New Year’s Day holiday, when markets will be closed. With only one trading day left before the end of the year, most large investors have closed their positions, resulting in very light trading volumes.
Even after a minor post-Christmas pullback, the indexes are still poised to rise strongly this year.
The S&P 500 is up more than 17% this year, its third straight year of double-digit annual gains. The Nasdaq rose 21.3% and the Dow rose 13.7%.
Wall Street’s gains in 2025 come as investors remain optimistic about artificial intelligence and its potential to boost profits in nearly every industry. But there has been no shortage of market turmoil along the way due to President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs on global imports and uncertainty over the trajectory of interest rates.
On April 3, the S&P 500 index plunged nearly 5%, its worst day since the 2020 coronavirus collapse. The index fell another 6% a day later as China’s reaction stoked concerns about an escalation in the trade war. Concerns also grip the U.S. Treasury market.
Trump eventually suspended tariffs and negotiated deals with countries to lower his proposed import tariff rates, which helped calm investor nerves.
Strong earnings reports from companies and three interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve also helped push the market higher.
Still, the AI boom driving the market in 2025 is not without its share of concerns. Chief among them is the concern that AI technology may not generate enough profits and productivity to make all investments worthwhile. That could put pressure on artificial intelligence stocks like Nvidia and Broadcom, which have been major contributors to the market’s gains this year.
It’s not just artificial intelligence stocks that critics say are overpriced. Even though prices are rising faster than profits, stocks still look expensive across the market.
In addition to concerns that stocks are overvalued, the ongoing impact of the U.S.-led trade war could further fuel U.S. inflation. Although the Federal Reserve cut interest rates due to concerns about the labor market, inflation remains well above the central bank’s 2% target.
Wall Street is betting the Fed will keep interest rates steady at its next meeting in January.
Traders got an update on the state of the job market on Wednesday. The Labor Department reported that fewer Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week and layoffs remained low despite a soft labor market.
Technology and communications services stocks were among the heaviest stocks on the market Wednesday.
Broadcom fell 1.1% and Micron Technology fell 2%.
Treasury yields in the bond market are mostly higher. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.14% from 4.13% on Tuesday night. The two-year Treasury yield rose to 3.46% from 3.45%, with the yield moving closer to expectations for Fed action.
As the years pass, precious metals trading continues to fluctuate. After rising more than 10% on Tuesday, silver fell sharply in early trading on Wednesday, falling back more than 6%. Silver fell nearly 9% on Monday after rising 7.7% on Friday. It’s still up more than 140% this year.
Gold fell 0.6% but will still rise 65% in 2025.
Elsewhere, global stock markets including Germany, Japan and South Korea were closed on Wednesday for the New Year holiday, while those that were still open were trading mixed.
U.S. crude oil prices rose 39 cents to $58.34 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 36 cents to $61.69 a barrel.