Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., Oct. 22, 2025.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
U.S. equities fell on Wednesday as new developments out of Washington exacerbated concerns among investors about U.S.-China trade relations. Disappointing corporate earnings from companies including Texas Instruments and Netflix also weighed on the major averages.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower by 334.33 points, or 0.71%, at 46,590.41. The S&P 500 fell 0.53% to finish at 6,699.40, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.93% to settle at 22,740.40. At session lows, the Dow was down more than 400 points, or about 1%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq decreased 1.2% and 1.9%, respectively.
Stocks remained under pressure after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that the White House is weighing curbs on exports to China made with U.S. software. Reuters had first reported the move Wednesday.
The developments come after President Donald Trump almost two weeks ago said that the U.S. would implement export restrictions by Nov. 1 on "any and all critical software."
Dow Jones Industrial Average, 1-day
Earlier in the day, equities had already taken a leg lower, hurt by Texas Instruments dropping 5.6% after the semiconductor company's latest earnings came in weaker than expected. The company's fourth-quarter earnings forecast was soft as well.
Texas Instruments also plagued the broader semiconductor sector. On Semiconductor declined almost 6%, and Advanced Micro Devices slipped more than 3%. Micron Technology, as well as the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH), slid about 2%.
Netflix shares also held back the market. The streaming platform slumped 10% after earnings missed estimates due to a dispute with Brazilian tax authorities.
Intuitive Surgical was a bright spot Wednesday, with shares rallying nearly 14% on the back of strong earnings and revenue.
Investors are now looking ahead to some upcoming earnings reports that could offer a boost to equities. For instance, Tesla's earnings expected Wednesday after the bell will kick off highly-awaited reports from the "Magnificent Seven" megacap tech group.
As it stands, more than three-quarters of the S&P 500 companies that have posted results so far have beaten expectations, according to FactSet.
"Perhaps amid reports that US corporate earnings outcomes for Q3 have been much better than expected, there may remain some worries about guidance from management as the US corporate earnings season expands to encompass more stocks and more sectors," Thierry Wizman, global FX and rates strategist at Macquarie Group, said in a note.
"The few high-profile reports were issued overnight (e.g., Netflix, Texas Instruments) have been downbeat in tone," he continued.
The Dow Industrials are coming off a record-setting session, briefly topping 47,000 on Tuesday, thanks to strong results from Coca-Cola and 3M. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq lagged, however, after Trump said his expected meeting next week with Chinese President Xi Jinping might be called off.
