Wall Street stocks fell for the second straight session on Wednesday as analysts pointed to worries about elevated equity valuations and awaited key economic data later in the week.

"We've given up some ground today," said FHN Financial's Chris Low. "It really does look mostly like people are just taking some cash off the table or repositioning."

The Dow Jones finished down 0.4 percent at 46,121.

The S&P 500 fell 0.3 percent to 6,637, while the Nasdaq shed 0.3 percent to 22,497.

While all three indices finished at fresh records on Monday, market watchers have said equities could be poised to retreat after a heady run, especially since late September is traditionally a weak patch for the market.

Low also pointed to worries that Fed policy makers may back away from additional interest rate cuts. Key data points in the coming days include Thursday's jobless claims data and Friday's personal consumption price data, a closely watched inflation metric.

Among individual companies, Alibaba shot up 8.2 percent as the e-commerce giant announced significant investments in artificial intelligence and unveiled a collaboration with Nvidia.

Vancouver-based Lithium Americas shot up 95.5 percent after reports that the Trump administration was in talks to take an equity stake in the mining company as part of a renegotiation of a government loan for a Nevada mining project.

Micron Technology fell 2.8 percent despite reporting blowout financial results on strong AI-related demand. Analysts said the good results were already reflected in the company's stock price, which had risen about 85 percent in 2025 prior to the results. (AFP)