The Table Turns: Five Sessions of Falling AI Semiconductors While Dow Climbs

The market pulled back Wednesday, as AI and semiconductor stocks pulled back hard while slower-growing stocks on the Dow Jones led the index to a fresh closing and intraday high.

Overall 4400 equities advanced, while 7105 declined.

This week will be a light one for macroeconomic news, with many Federal Reserve speakers and Initial Jobless claims on Thursday.

Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller said the central bank is "getting closer to the time when a cut" in interest rates is warranted, but he still wants more evidence that inflation is slowing before he's ready to move.

Federal Reserve Governor Adriana D. Kugler said Tuesday she anticipates "it will be appropriate to begin easing monetary policy later this year" if economic conditions continue to evolve in a favorable manner with more rapid disinflation and employment softens while remaining resilient. She addressed the National Association for Business Economics Foundation in Washington.

"If the labor market cools too much and unemployment continues to increase and is driven by layoffs, I would see it as appropriate to cut rates sooner rather than later," Kugler said. "Alternatively, if incoming data do not provide confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent, it may be appropriate to hold rates steady for a little longer."

Federal Reserve President Jerome Powell spoke Monday, saying the Fed would likely lower rates before inflation to 2%.

Oil futures ended higher on Wednesday, tallying their first gain in four sessions, after official U.S. data revealed a third weekly drop in a row for commercial crude inventories.

A week-to-week decline in implied gasoline demand reported by the Energy Information Administration, however, highlighted a reduction in fuel consumption during the summer season.

West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery rose $2.09, or 2.6%, to settle at $82.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices settled at their highest since July 5 after ending Tuesday at the lowest in more than three weeks, according to Dow Jones Market Data.