UNH UnitedHealth Group Inc

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open on Wednesday, with stocks likely to show a lack of direction following the notable pullback seen over the course of the previous session.

Uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets may keep some traders on the sidelines on the heels of yesterday’s pullback.

The downturn on Tuesday, which was led by tech stocks after Dutch chipmaker ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) warned of “customer cautiousness,” came after the Dow and the S&P 500 reached new record closing highs on Monday.

Traders may also be reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of several key economic reports on Thursday.

Reports on weekly jobless claims, retail sales and industrial production are likely to be in focus as traders look for additional clues about the outlook for the economy and interest rates.

Among individual stocks, shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) are seeing notable pre-market strength after the financial giant reported third quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) is also likely to see an initial jump after reporting better than expected third quarter results.

After moving to the upside early in the session, stocks came under considerable selling pressure over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. The major averages all moved notably lower following the strong gains posted during Monday’s session.

The major averages fell to new lows late in the trading day before regaining some ground going into the close. The tech-heavy Nasdaq slumped 187.10 points or 1.0 percent to 18,315.59, the Dow slid 324.80 points or 0.8 percent to 42,740.42 and the S&P 500 fell 44.59 points or 0.8 percent to 5,815.26.

The pullback on Wall Street may partly have reflected profit taking, as some traders looked to cash in on recent strength in the markets.

The Dow and the S&P 500 reached record closing highs on Monday, with the Dow closing above 43,000 for the first time. The Nasdaq is also closing in on the record highs set in July.

A steep drop by shares of UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH) weighed on the Dow, as the health insurance giant plunged by 8.1 percent.

The nosedive by UnitedHealth came after the company reported third quarter results that beat expectations but lowered the top end of its full-year earnings guidance.

Financial giant Citigroup (NYSE:C) also showed notable move to the downside despite reporting better than expected third quarter results.

Meanwhile, shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) skyrocketed by 15.8 percent after the drugstore chain reported fiscal fourth quarter results that exceeded estimates and announced plans to close roughly 1,200 stores over the next three years.

On the U.S. economic front, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released a report showing regional manufacturing activity has returned to contraction in the month of October.

The New York Fed said its general business conditions index tumbled to a negative 11.9 in October from a positive 11.5 in September, with a negative reading indicating contraction. Economists had expected the index to decrease to a positive 2.3.

Despite the downturn in October, the New York Fed said optimism about the six-month outlook grew strongly, with the index for future business activity jumping to a multi-year high of 38.7 in October from 30.6 in September.

Semiconductor stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the session, dragging the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down by 5.3 percent.

The sell-off by semiconductor stocks came as ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet said market segments other than AI are recovering more gradually than previously expected, leading to customer cautiousness.

A steep drop by the price of crude oil also contributed to substantial weakness among energy stocks, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index and the NYSE Arca Oil Index both plunging by 3.8 percent.

Steel, healthcare and natural gas stocks also saw considerable weakness, while telecom stocks showed a strong move to the upside, resulting in a 1.8 percent jump by the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index.

UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH)
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