Stocks moved sharply lower at the start of trading on Wednesday, giving back some ground after showing a strong upward move in the previous session. The major averages all showed notable moves to the downside, pulling back near their recent lows.
The major averages have climbed off their lows for the session since then but remain in the red. The Dow is down 73.57 points or 0.6 percent at 12,002.54, the Nasdaq is down 14.96 points or 0.6 percent at 2,663.76 and the S&P 500 is down 8.11 points or 0.6 percent at 1,279.76.
The initial weakness on Wall Street came on the heels of disappointing U.S. economic data as well as renewed concerns about the financial crisis in Greece, where hundreds of protesters have taken to the streets of Athens to demonstrate against proposed measures to reduce the budget deficit.
Amid the protests in Greece, European finance ministers have failed to reach an agreement on extending a second round of financial assistance to the debt-plagued country.
In U.S. economic news, the New York Federal Reserve released a report before the start of trading showing that conditions for New York manufacturers unexpectedly deteriorated in the month of June.
The New York Fed said its general business conditions index dropped to a negative 7.8 in June from a positive 11.9 in May, with a negative reading indicating a contraction in regional manufacturing activity. Economists had expected the index to increase to a reading of 14.0.
With the unexpected decrease, the general business conditions index turned negative for the first time since November of 2010.
A separate report from the Labor Department showed an unexpected increase in consumer prices in the month of May despite a drop in energy prices.
Housing stocks are seeing considerable weakness in early trading after turning in some of the market's best performances in the previous session. The Philadelphia Housing Sector Index is down by 1.1 percent but remains off last Friday's six-month closing low.
Most of the other major sectors have also moved to the downside, although selling pressure has waned from the start of trading. Networking, airline, and software stocks continue to post notable losses.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.3 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by 0.7 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets are all moving to the downside on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.8 percent, while the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index have fallen by 1.3 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries are seeing modest strength after falling sharply in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 3.7 basis points at 3.062 percent.
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May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.