DAY 4: Stocks Are Falling Again
After opening slightly higher on Wednesday, all of the major equity indexes have turned negative.
In early trade Wednesday, the Dow was down 3 points, the S&P 500 was down 2 points, and the Nasdaq was down about 4 points.
A drop in stocks on Wednesday would mark the first time this year stocks saw losses in four straight sessions.
Wednesday is a light day for the economic calender, but we did get new home sales that significantly beat expectations. New home sales rose 18% in August to an annualized pace of 504,000. This compared to expectations for an increase to an annualized rate of 430,000, with Wednesday's report marking the largest beat relative to expectations since May 2010.
Also making headlines on Wednesday was a report from The Wall Street Journal that said China might push out the head of its central bank.
The SEC is also reportedly looking into certain activities in the ETF that tracks PIMCO's signature Total Return Bond Fund, with the regulator examining whether returns inside the exchange-traded fund were artificially boosted.
Among the notable stock movers was Bed Bath & Beyond, up 6% after reporting better than expected earnings and revenue on Tuesday night.