U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday, led by the Nasdaq, with technology shares falling as investors shifted to defensive positions and bank stocks extending losses after mixed quarterly results.

After missing fourth-quarter profit projections, Wells Fargo (WFC.N) shares fell 4.6%, as did the S&P 500 bank index (.SPXBK).

Even though Citigroup (C.N) and Bank of America (BAC.N) surpassed Wall Street fourth-quarter profit projections, shares dipped.

Banks, which rose in 2025, have dipped this week because to concerns about President Trump’s proposed credit-card interest rate cap, which JPMorgan (JPM.N) executives say might affect customers and financial industry revenues.

S&P 500 financials (.SPSY) and technology sector (.SPLRCT) declined, while defensive categories including consumer staples (.SPLRCS) climbed. The small-cap Russell 2000 index (.RUT) and S&P 500 industrials index (.SPLRCI) reached record closing highs this year, surpassing the benchmark S&P 500.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) slid 42.36 points (0.09%) to 49,149.63, while the S&P 500 (.SPX) lost 37.14 points (0.53%) to 6,926.60 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) lost 238.12 points (1.00%) to 23,471.75.

Broadcom (AVGO.O) and Fortinet (FTNT.O) shares fell after citing three sources, that Chinese authorities have ordered domestic companies to stop using cybersecurity software from more than a dozen U.S. and Israeli companies.

Conversely, energy stocks and oil prices surged over concerns about Iranian supply disruptions. Oil eased later.
Investors also reviewed data on Wednesday showing November U.S. producer prices met projections but retail sales exceeded them. Tuesday’s report showed December consumer prices climbed as expected.