Stocks pull back from their latest all-time highs on Wall Street

Wall Street closed out another winning month Friday, even as stocks gave back some of their recent gains, pulling the market below its latest all-time highs.

The S&P 500 fell 0.6% a day after climbing to a record high. The benchmark index ended August with a 1.9% gain, its fourth straight month of gains. It’s now up 9.8% so far this year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average also came off its own record high, slipping 0.2%, while the Nasdaq composite closed 1.2% lower.

“The reason the market is down today is primarily because we are heading into a long weekend, and a lot of traders don’t like to have a hefty exposure over a long weekend because of the news that could come out and take them by surprise,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA.

Mixed economic data may also have given traders an excuse to sell and pocket some profits following the market’s milestone-setting week. A closely watched measure of inflation showed prices mostly held steady last month, and a survey of consumer sentiment came suggested Americans' worries about the economy and prices intensified since July.

Losses in technology weighed on the market, offsetting gains in health care and other sectors.

Dell Technologies slid 8.9% for the biggest decline among S&P 500 stocks a day after the company reported second-quarter revenue that exceeded analysts' expectations, but noted that margin pressures and weakness in PC revenue.

Among other tech companies that ended the day in the red: Tech giant Nvidia fell 3.3%, Broadcom dropped 3.6% and Oracle slid 5.9%.

The Commerce Department said prices rose 2.6% in July compared with a year ago, as measured by the personal consumption expenditures index. That’s the same annual increase as in June and in line with what economists expected.

Still, excluding the volatile food and energy categories, prices rose 2.9% last month from a year earlier, up from 2.8% in June and the highest since February.

While inflation is much lower than the roughly 7% peak it reached three years ago, it is still running noticeably above the Fed’s 2% target.

Still, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled last week that the central bank may cut its key interest rate at its meeting next month, amid signs of sluggishness in the job market.

The most recent government data suggests hiring has slowed sharply since this spring.

“Today’s in-line PCE Price Index will keep the focus on the jobs market,” said Ellen Zentner, chief economic strategist for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. “For now, the odds still favor a September cut.”

Lower rates can boost investment prices and the economy by making it cheaper for U.S. households and businesses to borrow, but they risk worsening inflation.

Traders see a roughly 87% chance that the central bank will cut its benchmark interest rate next month by a quarter of a percentage point, according to data from CME Group.

Meanwhile, the latest reading in a survey of U.S. consumers by the University of Michigan showed sentiment soured this month. The final August reading is the lowest since May, reflecting heightened concerns about prices and the economy.

Treasury yields were mixed in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.23% from 4.21% late Wednesday. The yield on the two-year Treasury, which more closely tracks expectations for Federal Reserve action, slipped to 3.62% from 3.63%.

The Fed will get to review two more important inflation barometers before its next policy meeting, the producer price index and consumer price index. Unless those reports show a huge spike in inflation, the Fed is “almost guaranteed” to cut interest rates next month, said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Northlight Asset Management.

Among the stocks that weighed on the market Friday were Ulta Beauty and Marvell Technology.

Ulta fell 7.1% despite posting second-quarter earnings and revenue that topped analysts' estimates, while Marvell slid 18.6% after its third-quarter guidance fell short of what Wall Street was expecting.

Not all stocks lost ground. Petco Health & Wellness and Autodesk bucked the broader market slide after reporting better-than-expected quarterly results. Petco jumped 23.5% and Autodesk climbed 9.1%.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 41.60 points to 6,460.26. The Dow dropped 92.02 points to 45,544.88, and the Nasdaq gave up 249.61 points to close at 21,455.55.

European markets were mostly lower and Asian markets closed mixed.

U.S. markets will be closed on Monday for the Labor Day holiday.

Options traderMatthew Hefner works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A dealer works near the screen showing the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A dealer reacts near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Dealers talk near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A dealer walks near the screens showing the foreign exchange rates at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A dealer watches computer monitors at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado discussed her country's future with President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, even though he has dismissed her credibility to take over after an audacious U.S. military raid captured then-President Nicolás Maduro.

Trump has raised doubts about his stated commitment to backing democratic rule in Venezuela and signaled his willingness to work with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who was Maduro’s No. 2. Along with others in the deposed leader’s inner circle, Rodríguez remains in charge of day-to-day government operations and was set to deliver her first state of the union speech Thursday.

In endorsing Rodríguez so far, Trump has sidelined Machado, who has long been a face of resistance in Venezuela. She also had sought to cultivate relationships with Trump and key administration voices like Secretary of State Marco Rubio among the American right wing in a gamble to ally herself with the U.S. government.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had been looking forward to the lunchtime meeting with Machado and called her “a remarkable and brave voice” for the people of Venezuela. But Leavitt also said Trump's opinion of Machado had not changed, calling it "a realistic assessment."

Trump has said it would be difficult for Machado to lead because she “doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.” Her party is widely believed to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro.

Leavitt went on to say that Trump supported new Venezuelan elections “when the time is right” but did not say when he thought that might be.

Leavitt said Machado sought the face-to-face meeting without setting expectations for what would occur. Machado previously offered to share with Trump the Nobel Peace Prize she won last year, an honor he has coveted.

“I don’t think he needs to hear anything from Ms. Machado," the press secretary said, other than to have a ”frank and positive discussion about what’s taking place in Venezuela.”

Machado spent about two and a half hours at the White House but left without answering questions on whether she'd offered to give her Nobel prize to Trump, saying only “gracias."

After her White House stop, Machado plans to have a meeting at the Senate. Her Washington visit began after U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says had ties to Venezuela.

It is part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil after U.S. forces seized Maduro and his wife at a heavily guarded compound in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and brought them to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking charges.

Leavitt said Venezuela's interim authorities have been fully cooperating with the Trump administration and that Rodríguez's government said it planned to release more prisoners detained under Maduro. Among those released were five Americans this week.

Rodríguez has adopted a less strident position toward Trump then she did immediately after Maduro's ouster, suggesting that she can make the Republican administration's “America First” policies toward the Western Hemisphere, work for Venezuela — at least for now.

Trump said Wednesday that he had a “great conversation” with Rodríguez, their first since Maduro was ousted.

“We had a call, a long call. We discussed a lot of things,” Trump said during an Oval Office bill signing. “And I think we’re getting along very well with Venezuela.”

Even before indicating the willingness to work with Venezuela's interim government, Trump was quick to snub Machado. Just hours after Maduro's capture, Trump said of Machado that “it would be very tough for her to be the leader.”

Machado has steered a careful course to avoid offending Trump, notably after winning the peace prize. She has since thanked Trump, though her offer to share the honor with him was rejected by the Nobel Institute.

Machado’s whereabouts have been largely unknown since she went into hiding early last year after being briefly detained in Caracas. She briefly reappeared in Oslo, Norway, in December after her daughter received the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf.

The industrial engineer and daughter of a steel magnate began challenging the ruling party in 2004, when the nongovernmental organization she co-founded, Súmate, promoted a referendum to recall then-President Hugo Chávez. The initiative failed, and Machado and other Súmate executives were charged with conspiracy.

A year later, she drew the anger of Chávez and his allies again for traveling to Washington to meet President George W. Bush. A photo showing her shaking hands with Bush in the Oval Office lives in the collective memory. Chávez considered Bush an adversary.

Almost two decades later, she marshaled millions of Venezuelans to reject Chávez’s successor, Maduro, for another term in the 2024 election. But ruling party-loyal electoral authorities declared him the winner despite ample credible evidence to the contrary. Ensuing anti-government protests ended in a brutal crackdown by state security forces.

Garcia Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela, and Janetsky from Mexico City. AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado gestures to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado waves to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado smiles on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado waves to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

FILE - U.S. President George Bush, right, meets with Maria Corina Machado, executive director of Sumate, a non-governmental organization that defends Venezuelan citizens' political rights, in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, May 31, 2005. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

FILE - Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures to supporters during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, file)