Wall Street ends mixed on lower oil prices and rebound in tech stocks

Although the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 indexes recorded losses for the second straight session, the Nasdaq Composite Index, boosted by the healthcare and technology stocks, rose sharply on Wednesday.

As the barrel of West Texas Intermediate refreshed its seven-month low near the $42 handle, the S&P energy index .SPNY dropped 1.5% on the day. The S&P 500 closed the day 4 points, or 0.16%, lower at 2,433.50. Concerns about interest rate margins due to a flattening yield curve hurt the financials and pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 57.11 points, or 0.27%, to 21,410.03.

• Forex today: WTI drops to fresh lows for the year, drags markets with it

On the other hand, the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 46 points, or 0.75%, to close at 6,233.95 after big biotech companies Celgene and Regeneron both rose more than 4%. A recent report by New York Times, which suggested that the Trump administration is likely to ease regulation for drug firms, seems to be the primary driver of that move.

Headlines from the U.S. session:

• 17% of U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil production shut in by tropical storm Cindy - Federal Regulators
• Slowdown is likely behind US as GDP appears to have accelerated in Q2 - BBH
• US Leading Indicators Index likely to show a 0.4% gain - Wells Fargo
• WTI intermarket: oil bears are relentless and deflationary prices could be here to stay
• Fed's Harker: Balance sheet runoff may start in September
• US: Existing home sales rebound in May - Wells Fargo
• U.S. Trade Rep. Lighthizer: U.S. won't force quick NAFTA deal - Bloomberg
• EIA: U.S. commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 2.5 mln barrels