LIVE MARKETS-S&P 500 falls 4-straight days, back down to flirt with 5,000

Nasdaq ends down ~1.2%, S&P 500 off ~0.6%, DJI edges red Tech weakest S&P 500 sector; Utilities lead gainers Dollar, gold dip; crude, bitcoin both down ~3% U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield falls to ~4.58% Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at S&P 500 FALLS 4-STRAIGHT DAYS, BACK DOWN TO FLIRT WITH 5,000 Wall Street’s main indexes fell in choppy trading on Wednesday as downbeat earnings reports from some industry majors, including insurer Travelers (TRV.N) , trucking company JB Hunt (JBHT.O) , and chip equipment maker ASML (ASML.O) weighed on sentiment. Meanwhile, the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield (US10YT=RR) , which on Tuesday had hit 4.696%, or its highest level since mid-November 2023, has quickly tumbled more than 10 basis points. The yield is now around 4.58%. In any event, value (.IVX) outperformed growth (.IGX) on Wednesday. This, with tech (.SPLRCT) the weakest S&P 500 (.SPX) sector, while banks (.SPXBK) (.KRX) posted gains, contributing to strength in financials (.SPSY) , despite weakness in insurers (KIE.P) . Chips (.SOX) and transports (.DJT) fell sharply, and were among the day’s underperformers. At its worst level, the S&P 500 index hit 5,007.25, nearly tagging the 5,000 level, while putting it down about 0.9% on the day. It ended off 0.58% at 5,022.21. The benchmark index has now fallen four days in a row. The last five-day losing streak ended on Oct. 23 of last year, which was three trading days ahead of the index’s Oct. 27 sell-off trough. The SPX has lost as much as 4.9% from its 5,264.85 March 28 record intraday high. It ended Wednesday down 4.4% from its 5,254.35 March 28 record closing high. Here is a snapshot of where markets stood just shortly after 4 pm ET: (Terence Gabriel) FOR WEDNESDAY’S EARLIER LIVE MARKETS POSTS: NO NEED TO GASP DESPITE RISING RATES, BMO SAYS - CLICK HERE BOFA CLIENTS STILL BYPASS HEALTHCARE STOCKS - CLICK HERE CAN Q1 EARNINGS BACKSTOP EQUITIES AGAINST HIGHER RATES? - CLICK HERE MORTGAGES: GET ‘EM WHILE THEY’RE HOT - CLICK HERE U.S. INDEXES MOSTLY EDGE UP; MATERIALS, UTILITIES, ENERGY LEAD - CLICK HERE AS FIRM DOLLAR ROILS EM CURRENCIES, WHAT’S A CENTRAL BANK TO DO? - CLICK HERE BENCHMARK TREASURY YIELD BUMPING UP AGAINST BIG CHART BARRIER - CLICK HERE EUROPEAN STOCKS, NOT AS CHEAP AS THEY LOOK - CLICK HERE RESPITE FOR CREDIT IN THE FACE OF “THE BIG SHRINK” - CLICK HERE DOLLAR/YEN AT 160 BY YEAR END SAY UBS - CLICK HERE WHAT LVMH RESULTS MEAN FOR EUROPEAN BEVERAGES - CLICK HERE EUROPE’S “SUNNY SWEET SPOTS” - CLICK HERE ASML: A BUYING OPPORTUNITY? - CLICK HERE ABSOLUTELY ALL ABOUT ADIDAS, ASML AND AARDVARKS, ALMOST - CLICK HERE EYES ON ASML AT THE OPEN - CLICK HERE MORNING BID EUROPE-DOLLAR BULLS ENTER THE CHINA SHOP - CLICK HERE closer04172024 (Terence Gabriel is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)