Dow Down For Third Session, Banks Slump -- U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks were slightly weaker Wednesday, trimming recent gains as news agency Axios reported President Donald Trump has decided to withdraw from the Paris climate accord.

Markets have been jittery this week, spooked by falling crude oil prices and significant geopolitical tensions. Traders also remain unsure about the outlook for interest rates, although all signs point to at least one rate hike this summer.

Weakness lingered in the energy and banking sectors. The S&P 500 dropped a point to close at 2,411 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 23 points, or 0.1%, to end at 21,006, its third straight modest decline. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 4 points to finish at 6,198.

The Federal Aviation Administration wants to fine United Airlines (UAL) almost a half million dollars for flying a plane that was not in "airworthy condition" 23 times. Shares were up fractionally.

Michael Kors dropped 6% after saying it plans to close dozens of stores.

Apple (APPL) will launch home speaker rival to Amazon Echo and Google Home, using its Siri voice feature, Bloomberg reports. Apple shares were down 0.7 percent.

The U.S. economy continued to expand at a "moderate or modest" pace in the past few months, according the Federal Reserve's Beige Book survey.

Boston and Chicago signaled that growth had slowed somewhat to a modest pace since the prior Beige Book period, while New York indicated that activity had flattened out.

U.S. pending-home sales from the National Association of Realtors fell 1.3% to a level of 109.8. Chicago PMI fell to 55.8 in May from a 2-year of 58.3 in April.

WTI light sweet crude oil for July fell $1.34, or 2.7%, to settle at $48.32/bbl. Prices slipped to their lowest in three weeks, having lost 2% in the month of May.

A global supply glut is expected to linger due to robust U.S. production, while certain outliers like Libya and Nigeria are ramping up following recent interruptions.

Elsewhere, the International Monetary Fund warned of a potential bubble in Canadian housing.

"Households are highly indebted and housing affordability, particularly in Vancouver and Toronto, has become a social issue with many first-time buyers priced out of the markets," the IMF's report said.