How major US stock indexes fared Wednesday 5/31/2023

Wall Street closed lower as worries rise about the strength of the global economy and inflation. The S&P 500 fell 0.6% Wednesday. The Nasdaq composite fell a similar amount, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%. Markets in Asia fell even more following discouraging data on manufacturing in China. In the U.S., economic data were mixed. A strong report on the job market raised expectations for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates again in two weeks. But a later speech by a Fed official calmed those worries. The S&P 500 ended May with a slight gain.