The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 slid on Wednesday, retreating from their latest records.

The S&P 500 lost 0.19% to close at 5,722.26, while the 30-stock Dow fell 293.47 points, or 0.70%, to end at 41,914.75. Both the Dow and S&P 500 hit fresh records in early trading, but the blue-chip index wound up snapping a four-day winning streak. The Nasdaq Composite eked out a narrow gain of 0.04%, closing at 18,082.21.

Notable losers of the day include General Motors and Ford, which both fell more than 4% after downgrades from Morgan Stanley. A 5.5% drop in Amgen weighed on the Dow. Nine of the 11 sectors in the S&P 500 ended the day in negative territory, led lower by energy as U.S. crude oil futures slid. Chevron shares slumped more than 2%.

Tech was a bright spot in the market. Hewlett Packard Enterprise advanced more than 5% following an upgrade from Barclays, citing strong artificial intelligence data center demand as a positive catalyst. Chip powerhouse Nvidia added 2.2%, bringing its market capitalization above the $3 trillion mark.

All three averages are on track for a positive September, though fears of a slowing economy still linger after last week's rate cut from the Federal Reserve. The central bank's move on interest rates has so far helped the S&P 500 defy what is usually a weak September.

"This is consistent with history: Stocks have tended to perform well in periods when the Fed is easing while the U.S. economy is still growing," UBS global wealth management chief investment officer, Americas, Solita Marcelli wrote in a Wednesday note. "But the Fed's level of success in guiding the US to a soft landing will be important in determining the outlook for other asset classes."

Now that the central bank has begun to lower interest rates, the economy is becoming a bigger focus for investors.

On the data front, new home sales slipped 4.7% in August to 716,000, down from July's revised reading of 751,000. Investors will also look toward weekly jobless claims on Thursday.