Wall Street closes lower, pausing rally as earnings approach

STORY: Wall Street finished lower Thursday with the Dow losing half of one percent, the S&P 500 dropping about a quarter of one percent and the Nasdaq falling marginally.The stock market's pause comes amid a steep rally that has been largely driven by the rise of artificial intelligence technology. The runup has prompted concerns that a bubble is forming, which could be a harbinger of an impending correction.Though Tally Leger, chief market strategist with The Wealth Consulting Group remains upbeat about stocks.“The Federal Reserve, our central bank, has resumed its interest rate cuts into an economy that has been surprising many observers with its resilience, even strength. And you can include to that the robust pace of corporate profits.(FLASH)"With the current mania in artificial intelligence and business investment in technology, including AI, we think that this bull run has quarters, if not years, more to run."The U.S. government shutdown entered its ninth day, with few signs of progress. Consequently, market participants continue to be deprived of essential economic data.Instead they are relying on commentary from Federal Reserve policy makers like New York Fed President John Williams who told the New York Times that he favors more interest rate reductions before year-end due to risks facing the weakening labor market.While several big banks report quarterly results next week as earnings season begins.Stocks on the move included Delta Air Lines which advanced four percent after it provided an upbeat forecast for the current quarter, after posting stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings.And Costco rose three percent after reporting September sales climbed eight percent.

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