The US markets ended lower on Wednesday as investors largely stayed cautious and refrained from making significant moves ahead of the much-awaited inflation data, due on Thursday. Despite continued optimism about strong economic rebound, the mood in the market was subdued due to concerns over rising inflation and fears about the Federal Reserve starting discussions on tapering its asset buying program sooner than expected. Industrials and financials were the two biggest losers among the 11 S&P 500 sectors, dragging down the broader market.
Meme stock mania continued Wednesday with day traders focusing their attention on Clean Energy Fuels this time, pushing the stock up more than 31%. Clover Heath, which surged over 85% in the prior session, pulled back 23% Wednesday. On the economic data front, data from the Commerce Department showed wholesale inventories in the US rose by 0.8% from a month earlier to $ 698.0 billion in April, after seeing a 1.2% increase in the previous month.
Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 152.68 points or 0.44 percent to 34,447.14, Nasdaq dropped 13.16 points or 0.09 percent to 13,911.75 and S&P 500 was down by 7.71 points or 0.18 percent to 4,219.55.