PACW - S&P NASDAQ Dive as Market Rally Pauses

The S&P 500 and NASDAQ closed lower Wednesday, with the broad market index fluctuating near its highest closing levels since August 2022.

The Dow Jones Industrials gained 91.74 points to end Wednesday at 33,605.02.

The much-broader S&P 500 backpedaled 16.33 points to 4,267.52.

The tech-heavy NASDAQ index withered 171.52 points, or 1.3%, to 13,104.90.

Shares of PacWest Bancorp jumped 14.4%, while Zions Bancorporation added 4.5%.

Stocks have been boosted recently as the promise of artificial intelligence lifts tech stocks. Over the past three months, the S&P 500 is up more than 7%.

The U.S. trade deficit continued to increase in April, but came in slightly below economists' expectations. The deficit could translate into lower GDP growth for the second quarter.

Prices for the 10-year Treasury sagged, raising yields to 3.79% from Tuesday's 3.68%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices recovered 87 cents to $72.61 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices retreated $25.20 to $1,956.30 U.S. an ounce.