US stocks closed lower, continuing the selling pressure on tech stocks that began on Tuesday.
Investors remained cautious amid rising economic uncertainty, along with concerns about market valuations, especially in the tech sector, which is currently at an all-time high.
All three major US indexes fell as investors waned interest in risky assets amid concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) stocks had surged higher.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) fell 2.4%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.84% to 46,913.65 points, the S&P 500 fell 1.12% to 6,720.38 points, while the tech-focused Nasdaq plunged 1.90% to 23,053.99 points.
Previously, AI stocks had been the main driver of the market rally over the past few months, helping to propel the three major indexes to new highs repeatedly.
However, the sector's recent weakness is a stark reminder of how dependent Wall Street is on the performance of technology stocks.
Elsewhere, the ongoing government shutdown has left the market with a lack of key economic indicators.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve (Fed), which relies on new economic data, is still assessing whether there is a need for another short-term interest rate cut.
Meanwhile, analysis from Revelio Labs shows that the US economy lost about 9,100 jobs last month, with the bulk of the reduction coming from the government sector.
According to the latest data from LSEG, the third-quarter earnings season is now almost over, with 424 companies in the S&P 500 having announced results. Of those, 83% managed to beat Wall Street analysts' expectations.
Analysts now expect S&P 500 earnings to rise 16.8% year-on-year for the July-September quarter, much higher than the initial estimate of 8.0%, according to LSEG.
Trading volume on US exchanges was worth $20.77 billion, compared to an average of $20.99 billion for the 20-day trading period.
