U.S. stocks fell Wednesday as investors considered weaker-than-expected U.S. economic data and mixed corporate results. Overseas, equities were lower Wednesday after weaker-than-expected Chinese inflation data added to concerns about the health of the world's second-biggest economy. The U.S. dollar fell versus other major currencies. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 2 cents to $46.64 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, mostly reversing losses earlier in the session. Gold futures rose $14.40 to $1,179.80 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 157.14, or 0.9 percent, to 16,924.75, its lowest level in a week and below the psychologically key 17,000 mark. Twenty of the index's 30 components fell, led by Wal-Mart, which plunged 10 percent after the world's biggest retailer said sales would be flat in fiscal-year 2016. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 9.45, or 0.5 percent, to 1,994.24. Consumer sectors were the biggest losers, while materials and energy led advancing sectors with gains of about 1 percent each. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 13.76, or 0.3 percent, to 4,782.85. Shares of SanDisk rose 10 percent as news it was exploring a potential sale boosted semiconductor stocks; Intel rose 1.5 percent. Shares of Apple fell 1 percent, while a biotechnology index rose more than 1 percent.
