All three US indices declined, with the Dow dropping 1.3 percent, or 475 points, to end at 37,082.00

Wall Street stocks declined Wednesday, snapping the Dow’s streak of five consecutive record closes in a move experts rated as unsurprising following weeks of gains.

Today’s retreat should be viewed as just a pause from what I would say was an extended price action, said Angelo Kourkafas of Edward Jones. Markets will not move in a straight line.

All three US indices declined, with the Dow dropping 1.3 percent, or 475 points, to end at 37,082.00.

US equities have risen since late October, following a nearly unbroken path as inflation moderated and the Fed indicated plans for 2024 interest rate cuts.

Shares of FedEx dipped nearly 12 percent as the transport company lowered its fiscal 2024 sales forecast, suggesting weakening demand.

But that was countered by a Conference Board survey showing an unexpected jump in consumer confidence in December.

The report easily topped analyst expectations, indicating consumers are rapidly shaking off some of their recent pessimism about the state of the US economy.

US stocks got a small boost from the consumer data but dropped in the afternoon.

Wednesday’s session marked “a breather in the markets,” Kourkafas said. With eight weeks of gains, we’re getting a little extended.

In Europe, Frankfurt and Paris stocks closed little changed, but London’s FTSE 100 increased 1.0 percent after figures showed UK inflation slowed in November to 3.9 percent — the lowest rate since September 2021.

Britain has had the most stubborn inflation and the data triggered speculation the BoE could now decide to start cutting interest rates next year, having hiked them to a 15-year high of 5.25 percent in order to bring down inflation from double digits.

Nevertheless, concerns persist after core inflation – which does not consider food and energy costs – eased only marginally to sit at 5.2 percent in November.

Asian stocks mostly rallied after another record Wall Street performance Tuesday.