Stocks fall on Wall Street as hopes fade for stimulus deal

Stocks gave up early gains and closed lower Wednesday, adding to Wall Street’s losses from a day earlier.

The S&P 500 fell 0.7% after spending the morning swaying between small gains and losses. Companies that rely on consumer spending, banks and technology and communication stocks bore the brunt of the selling. Trading in stock markets overseas was subdued as coronavirus counts climb around the world, raising the risk of more government restrictions on businesses. Treasury yields fell, while prices for crude oil and gold rose.

The decline came as talks between Democrats and Republicans in Washington over another economicstimulus package continued to drag on, dimming investors’ hopes for a deal that can deliver more aid for the U.S. economy in the near-term.

“The time for being able to pull this off is now coming to a close,” said Rod von Lipsey, managing director at UBS Private Wealth Management. “The market has been listless because it understands that it’s probably not going to happen.”

Investors are still anticipating some kind of an aid package eventually passing, he said, but it will now likely wait until after the election.

The S&P 500 fell 23.26 points (0.7%) to 3,488.67. The benchmark index broke a strong four-day winning streak on Monday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 165.81 (0.6%) to 28,514. The pullback knocked the Dow back into the red for the year. The Nasdaq composite slid 95.17 (0.8%) to 11,768.73. At one point it had been up 0.6%.

Small-company stocks, the biggest gainers so far this month, also fell. The Russell 2000 small-caps index gave up 15.20 points (0.9%) to 1,621.65.