NEW YORK (AP) — Fresh declines in AI stocks dragged the U.S. market lower on Wednesday and Wall Street sank to its fourth straight loss.
The S&P 500 fell 1.2% in its worst day in almost a month, although it is still not far from its all-time high set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 228 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 1.8%.
Slightly more stocks rose within the S&P 500 than fell, but they were drowned out by declines in companies in the artificial intelligence industry.
Questions continue to dog the former superstars about whether their years-long dominance of Wall Street meant their prices soared too high, as well as whether all the investment in AI will produce enough profits and productivity to prove worth the cost. Concerns are also growing about the debt some companies are taking on to pay for all of this.
Broadcom fell 4.5%, Oracle fell 5.4% and CoreWeave sank 7.1%. Nvidia, the chip company that has become the most influential stock on Wall Street due to its tremendous size, fell 3.8% and was the day’s largest weighting in the S&P 500.
Utilities that jumped early in the year on expectations of increased demand from electricity-consuming data centers also lost some shine. Constellation Energy fell 6.7%.
Only 17% of respondents in a survey of relatively large companies by UBS said they are producing their AI projects at scale. That could be “a reminder for technology investors to remain sober about the likely surge in revenue growth from AI products in 2026,” according to UBS analysts, although the rate continues to rise.
Also on the losing side of Wall Street was Lennar, which sank 4.5% following a mixed earnings report. The homebuilder posted a weaker profit last quarter than analysts expected, although its revenue beat expectations.
Chief executive Stuart Miller said conditions remained challenging and customers were feeling less confident seeking discounts and more affordable options. As a result, the company gave limited guidance about its upcoming financial performance.
Progressive, for its part, fell 2% after the Mayfield Village, Ohio-based insurer said its November net income fell 5% from its year-earlier level.
On the winning side of Wall Street were the oil companies, after President Donald Trump ordered a blockade of all “authorized oil tankers” entering Venezuela. It is Trump’s latest escalation against Venezuela, which may have more oil than any other country.
That sent the price of a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude oil up 1.2% to $55.94. just a day after it sank to its lowest level since 2021. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 1.3% to $59.68 a barrel.