Wall Street Slips Again On Growth Fears

Wall Street stocks retreated on Wednesday, with industrial companies especially weak as a Federal Reserve report described US growth as "modest."

Shares of Dow members Caterpillar, United Technology and Honeywell International fell more than two per cent on the dimming outlook of the sector's prospects amid slowing global growth.

The Fed, meanwhile, reported that worries about trade continue to weigh on sentiment even as the US economy keeps chugging along with steady job creation and tame inflation.

The report comes ahead of a policy meeting later this month at which the Fed is widely expected to cut interest rates.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.4 per cent at 27,220.

The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.7 per cent to 2,984, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.5 per cent to 8,185.

After hitting records last week, analysts have cautioned that stocks could be challenged to push higher, in part because of lackluster corporate earnings are expected this quarter. (AFP)