US close: Stocks end session lower amid cryptocurrency rout

Wall Street stocks closed in the red on Wednesday as tech stocks slumped amid a cryptocurrency rout.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.48% at 33,896.04, while the S&P 500 was 0.29% weaker at 4,115.68 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.03% softer at 13,299.74.

The Dow closed 164.62 points lower on Wednesday, well off session lows but still managing to extend losses recorded in the previous session as growth stocks continued to come under pressure as a result of inflationary fears.

On Wednesday, tech stocks were again under the cosh as a result of a sharp drop in cryptocurrencies, with bitcoin falling more than 30% in a single day to $30,000, before recovering to end the session around $38,526, as a result of China warning financial institutions not to conduct crypto-related business.

Tesla, which holds a significant amount of bitcoin, dropped 2.49% during trading, while Microstrategy tanked 6.64% on the back of its decision to buy up a large amount of bitcoin for its corporate treasury and newly public crypto exchange Coinbase slipped more than 5.9%.

On the macro front, mortgage applications increased for a second straight week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, jumping 1.2% week-on-week in the seven days ended 14 May.

Elsewhere, minutes from the Federal Open Markets Committee's most recent meeting were also in focus after central bank officials said "it might be appropriate at some point" to consider tapering asset purchases if the economy showed "rapid progress".

In terms of earnings, Target shares traded higher after reporting better-than-expected quarterly results, with sales surging 23% last quarter, while Lowe's beat on earnings amid robust home improvement spending.

L Brands said first-quarter sales and earnings had topped estimates, while Cisco Systems reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter revenues.