On Wednesday, chopping trading in the markets saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 fall because of Intel shares, after a bearish report from a brokerage. The Nasdaq, on the other hand, was up thanks to gains in Apple and Tesla. There was a fall in eight of the 11 sectors that make up the S&P 500 index, with consumer staples, real estate and industrials declining between 0.7% and 0.9%. There was a 3.8% drop recorded in Intel shares, which weighed the most on benchmark and blue-chip indexes. This was after analysts at Citi Research said that the second quarter could see the chip-maker report less-than-expected earnings.

Another company that dragged down the S&P 500 index was Altria, which reduced by 6.7%, after a report that the company’s stock had been cut to ‘underweight’ by Morgan Stanley due to competition worries. The gains were recorded in the energy sector, as the price of Brent crude rose to $122 per barrel. There has already been a 65% boost recorded in the sector so far and it is expected to have a bumper year. Market experts said that the biggest concern was with energy prices because investors just want hints that inflation might be coming down.

More choppiness is expected in the market for now, as there really isn’t any such news that might prove to be a breakthrough in terms of economics and earnings alike. With borrowing costs rising, the focus has shifted towards the consumer price data for the month of May that is scheduled for release on Friday. Markets will be spooked if it turns out to be hot because it would mean that the US Federal Reserve will not slowdown when it comes to tightening its monetary policy. There are already concerns about how the central bank will balance inflation and growth.

Since May 20^th, there has been a rise of 9% in the S&P 500 index after it had already declined by 20.05% this year. It had last reduced to 12.9%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite has recorded a fall of 22%, while Dow has declined by 9%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had already recorded a loss of 0.31%, or 103.37 points by 10:02 a.m. ET, while the S&P 500 had reduced by 0.21% to reach 4,151.89. There was a 0.23% increase in the Nasdaq Composite and this occurred because of Tesla Inc.’s rise of 4.3%.

There was a 0.6% increase in the shares of Apple Inc. for the third consecutive session. A 1.6% gain was also recorded by Western Digital Corp, after the company announced that it was reviewing its options. These include splitting its HDD and flash-memory business. Declining companies were higher than advancers on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), while the opposite was true for the Nasdaq. 3 new highs and 29 new lows were recorded by the S&P 500 index, while 21 and 31 new highs and lows were recorded by the Nasdaq Composite.