After moving mostly higher over the course of morning trading on Wednesday, stocks have shown a notable move back to the downside in the afternoon. The major averages have pulled back well off their highs for the session and into negative territory.
The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, lingering near their new lows for the session. The Dow is down 42.62 points or 0.3 percent at 15,344.96, the Nasdaq is down 30.96 points or 0.9 percent at 3,471.17 and the S&P 500 is down 9.48 points or 0.6 percent at 1,659.68.
The pullback by stocks reflects renewed concerns about the outlook for the Federal Reserve's asset purchase program following testimony from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and the release of the minutes of the latest Federal Open Market Committee meeting.
While Bernanke told a Congressional committee that prematurely tightening monetary policy carries substantial risk for the economy, he noted that upbeat data could lead the Fed to scale back its asset purchase program in the next few meetings.
Adding to the worries about the central bank slowing the pace of its asset purchases, the minutes of the FOMC meeting said a number of participants expressed willingness to adjust the flow of purchases downward as early as the June meeting.
Commercial real estate stocks have shown a substantial move to the downside on the day, dragging the Morgan Stanley REIT Index down by 2.2 percent. The index reached a five-year intraday high earlier in the session before coming under pressure.
Significant weakness has also emerged among oil service stocks, which are moving lower along with the price of crude oil. With crude for July delivery tumbling $1.85 to $94.33 a barrel, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index is down by 1.8 percent.
Steel, software, internet, and telecom stocks have also come under pressure, moving to the downside along with most of the major sectors.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in another mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged up by 1.6 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by 0.5 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside over the course of the session. While the German DAX Index advanced by 0.7 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.5 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries have come under considerable pressure amid worries about the Fed's asset purchase program. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 7.2 basis points at 2.016 percent.
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Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.