US stocks close lower, comeback rally stalls as investors remain cautious

Stocks reversed earlier gains and closed lower on Wednesday, a day after Wall Street snapped its three-day losing streak.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 234.21 points, or 0.6%, while the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 ended down 1.05% and 0.77%, respectively.

Indexes started the day higher and began to lose steam in afternoon trading. With investors still nervous after a recent steep selloff in global stocks, equities pared gains further after the Treasury auction. All three indexes then went red, and losses steepened just before the close.

The major indexes rebounded on Tuesday — paring some gains near the close — a day after U.S. recession fears triggered a global market sell-off. The Dow closed 293.66 points, or 0.76%, higher, while the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 finished up 1.03% and 1.04%, respectively.

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Tuesday’s gains followed a trading session that saw Wall Street's worst day since 2022. The Dow had shed more than 1,000 points by Monday’s closing bell as part of the sell-off that was sparked by weak U.S. jobs data and concerns of a slowing of the world’s largest economy.

"While Friday’s employment report was disappointing, it wasn’t the only worrisome economic indicator, only the latest," said Greg McBride, Bankrate's chief financial analyst. "Couple economic concerns with the cacophony of earnings disappointments and weak corporate outlooks, global unrest and currency gyrations, and you have the recipe for sudden volatility."

Markets await more commentary on monetary policy from U.S. central bank officials next week, in the run-up to the Jackson Hole, Wyoming, event where Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak.

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Japanese stocks continued their upward momentum, with the Nikkei 225 closing 1.19% higher. The index on Monday suffered its worst day since the 1987 Black Monday crash, falling 12%.

In Europe, the Stoxx 600 climbed 1.54% on Wednesday, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX indexes also posted gains.

Reuters contributed to this report.