Wall Street stocks finished lower on Wednesday after upbeat December US retail sales data eroded expectations the Federal Reserve will kick off its rate-cut campaign as early as March.

The benchmark S&P 500 fell to its lowest in over a week.

Amazon, Nvidia and Alphabet dipped between 0.5 percent and 1 percent and weighed on the S&P 500 as the 10-year Treasury yield rose to over 4.1%, its highest this year.

Tesla dropped 2 percent after the electric-vehicle maker slashed prices of its Model Y cars in Germany a week after reducing prices for some China models.

Data showed discounts from retailers and increased motor-vehicle purchases supported a higher-than-expected rise in U.S. retail sales, keeping the economy on a solid footing in 2024.

That reinforced the view that the Fed may not cut rates as quickly as previously expected this year.

"People's positions are moderating from 'all positive' to 'there's still a lot of uncertainty out there,'" said Tom Martin, senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments in Atlanta.

He cited Fed officials who have recently downplayed expectations of a quick start to rate cuts, and mixed economic data.

Morgan Stanley fell 1.8 percent after analysts cut their ratings and price targets in the wake of the bank's fourth-quarter earnings. Bank of America and Citigroup each lost about 1 percent.

The S&P 500 declined 0.56 percent to end at 4,739 points. The Nasdaq fell 0.59 percent to 14,856 points, while Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.25 percent to 37,267 points.

Charles Schwab dropped 1.3 percent after its fourth-quarter profit fell 47 percent. Spirit Airlines tumbled 22 percent, down sharply for a second day after a US judge on Tuesday blocked JetBlue from acquiring the carrier. (Reuters)
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Last updated: 2023-01-18 HKT 09:03