Banking, health care and technology companies also declined, while consumer-focused stocks and phone companies posted gains.
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Better-than-expected second-quarter earnings and a set of strong economic data have pushed the S&P 500 to a series of record intraday highs since July.
The S&P 500 fell 4 point, or 0.21 percent, to 2,177, with energy leading six sectors lower and consumer staples leading advancers. The Nasdaq Composite (COMP – 5,204.59) also moved lower, dropping 20.9 points, or 0.4%.
The Dow Jones industrial average was higher by 128 points at 18,623.
The S&P 500 is down 7.38 points, or 0.3 percent. The Shanghai Composite index added 0.4 percent to 3,015.62 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3 percent to 5,522.10. Dow futures were flat and S&P futures edged up 0.1 percent. Yahoo, which owns a stake in Alibaba, rose 3.4%.
The latest market milestones reflect investors’ improved confidence in the US economy of late. Fossil added $1.48, or 4.9 percent, to $31.84, while Ralph Lauren gained $7.43, or 7.8 percent, to $102.50.
WHERE’S THE REVENUE: Wendy’s fell 4.8 percent after the hamburger chain said a key sales measure fell sharply in its latest quarter.
Macy’s shares soared 18 percent, marking the best day for the department store operator in almost eight years after it reported a smaller-than-expected drop in quarterly comparable-store sales and said it would close 100 stores. The company also said it will return more cash to shareholders by taking on new debt to buy back stock.
The rally in Macy’s helped the S&P 500’s consumer discretionary index jump 0.8%, making it the biggest gainer among the benchmark’s 10 major indexes.
Many investors remain sceptical that an informal meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries scheduled for September will produce an agreement to address the low price situation of crude oil since the fall through of their most recent talks aimed at production freezes.
More clarity about the USA economy’s health and the next move on rates from the Federal Reserve could come with Friday’s release of July retail sales and a speech by Fed Chair Janet Yellen later this month. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.7 percent.
Oil futures seesawed Wednesday, with US crude trading about 2 percent lower after the Energy Information Administration’s weekly inventories data release.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.52 percent. South Korea’s Kospi inched up less than 0.1%.
Other commodities were mixed with the September natural gas falling a penny to US$2.55 per mmBTU, December gold contracts dropped $1.90 to US$1,350 an ounce and September copper contracts rose two cents to US$2.19 a pound. Japan’s stock exchange was closed for a holiday.
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CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 101.39 yen from 101.94 yen while the euro strengthened to $1.1177 from $1.1113.
