The stock market closed lower Wednesday after stocks sought direction all day but succumbed to sellers in the final 90 minutes of trading.
X The Nasdaq composite, which had been up 0.8% earlier, ended 0.8% lower as major indexes closed at session lows. The S&P 500 lost 1.1%, closing below its 50-day moving average.
The Dow Jones industrial average slid 1.5%, off 380 to 25,029 as industrial giants Caterpillar (CAT) and General Electric (GE) fell 4% and 2.5%, respectively. Caterpillar fell below its 50-day moving average but continued to work on a new base. GE has touched the lowest levels since 2010 this week.
The small-cap Russell 2000 fell 1.2% at the close.
Wednesday's losses capped a down month of February for the major indexes, which had made it 10 straight months with gains. For February, the Dow lost 4.2%, the S&P 500 more than 3% and the Nasdaq nearly 2%.
Volume rose on the Nasdaq and the NYSE Wednesday, according to preliminary data. Losers led winners by a 5-to-2 ratio on the NYSE and by 9-5 on the Nasdaq.
The market's overall direction is still upward, and a few high-rated stocks broke out of bases, including Veeva Systems (VEEV), Etsy (ETSY) and Booking Holdings (BKNG), the parent company of Priceline.com, Booking.com and other travel sites.
All three broke out after reporting earnings, and all three gapped out of their bases in heavy volume. Such moves reflect unusual strength, and the trio did not give up much of the day's gains.
A lesser-known stock, Trinet Group (TNET), soared 13% as it cleared resistance around 45. The stock's relative strength line made a new high also, a good sign for the breakout. The provider of human resources outsourcing services for small and medium-sized companies reported a 5% increase in Q4 sales to $848 million and adjusted EPS of 46 cents, up 21%.
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