US markets end mostly lower on Wednesday

08 Jun 2023 Evaluate

The US markets ended lower on Wednesday after the Bank of Canada once again raised interest rates after leaving rates unchanged for two straight meetings, raising the concerns about the outlook for U.S. rates. The Bank of Canada increased its target for the overnight rate by 25 basis points to 4.75 percent, citing stubbornly high inflation and stronger than expected economic growth. Meanwhile, The Federal Reserve is scheduled to announce its latest monetary policy decision next Wednesday, with the central bank widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged. On the sectoral front, software stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the session, dragging the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index down by 3.3 percent. The index continued to give back ground after reaching its best closing level in over a year on Monday.

Significant weakness also emerged among retail stocks, with the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index falling by 1.4 percent after ending Tuesday's trading at a nearly nine-month closing high. On the economic data front, a report released by the Commerce Department showed the U.S. trade deficit widened significantly in the month of April. The Commerce Department said the trade deficit increased to $74.6 billion in April from a revised $60.6 billion in March. Street had expected the trade deficit to jump to $75.2 billion from the $64.2 billion originally reported for the previous month. The wider trade deficit came as the value of exports plunged by 3.6 percent to $249.0 billion, while the value of imports surged by 1.5 percent to $323.6 billion.

Nasdaq fell 171.52 points or 1.29 percent to 13,104.89 and S&P 500 was down by 16.33 points or 0.38 percent to 4,267.52, while Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 91.74 points or 0.27 percent to 33,665.02. 


© 2026 The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. MoneyWorks4Me ® is a registered trademark of The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.

×