• The Dow Jones tilted into the bearish side, falling 300 points.
• Exhaustion plays are on the cards with indexes deep in overbought territory.
• Despite a trim off the top, the Dow Jones is on pace for another record month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) pulled back on Wednesday, shedding around 300 points and easing back below the 42,000 handle as the heavyweight equity index takes a breather after a period of repeated breaks into record territory.

 Treasury yields ticked higher on Wednesday and most of the US indexes are testing into the red, with the Dow Jones taking the brunt of the damage, falling 0.8% through the US trading session. Market focus is shifting back to the state of the US economy following the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) bumper 50 bps rate cut last week.

US consumer confidence indicators fell this week as the average US consumer doesn’t share in the stock market’s exuberance over Fed rate cuts, with key confidence readings falling to their lowest levels in three years and consumer inflation expectations for the next 12 months ticking higher. This Friday will see a fresh update to US Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) inflation figures.

New home sales also fell in August, declining 4.7% to 716K from the previous month’s revised 751K. Meanwhile, investors will see another print of US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for the second quarter, expected to hold steady at 3.0% on an annualized basis. Thursday will also bring a slew of speeches and public appearances from several Fed officials, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell.