HAL - S&P Sinks After 2 Days of Gains

U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday as Wall Street failed to hold on to the sharp gains from the last two sessions.

The Dow Jones Industrials flirted with the green near the end of the session, but lost 42.45 points to close Wednesday at 30,273.87.

The S&P 500 docked 7.65 points to 3,783.28.

The NASDAQ Composite dropped 27.77 points to 11,148.64.

Major averages jumped off the lows in afternoon trading Wednesday, led by energy names Exxon Mobil and Halliburton, which both rallied more than 4%.

Semiconductors, the industry that came under pressure earlier, traded off their lows. Qualcomm rose 1.5%, driving the comeback in the sector.

Meanwhile, Nike jumped 2% in afternoon trading, leading consumer stocks higher

Private payrolls increased by 208,000, ADP said in its latest report, topping a Dow Jones estimate. Traders are still looking ahead to Friday's release of the non-farm payrolls report.

The U.S. trade deficit fell slightly more than expected in August to its lowest level in more than a year, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Wednesday.

The trade shortfall declined to $67.4 billion, a $3.1 billion drop from the previous month that was a bit better than the Dow Jones estimate of $67.7 billion. That marked the lowest level since May 2021. In March 2022, the deficit had hit a record $106.9 billion.

Treasury prices stumbled, lifting yields to 3.75% from Tuesday's 3.64%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite direction.

Oil prices recovered $1.54 to $88.06 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices faltered $4.10 to $1,726.40 U.S. an ounce.