The Dow Jones Industrial Average moved lower in today's stock market, but closed off its lows of the day. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq was an underperformer on Wednesday with a drop of around 87 points. But the Russell 2000 index led on the downside with a loss of over 1%.

Dow Jones In The Stock Market Today

The Nasdaq fell 0.6% after multiple days of outperforming the other key indexes. The Dow Jones held a loss of 0.2%, while the S&P 500 lost 0.1%. The Russell 2000 index closed with a 1.1% decline. Preliminary data showed higher volume on the NYSE and on the Nasdaq vs. Tuesday.

Stocks were down Wednesday, after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen strongly advocated for Congress to raise the debt ceiling, as a U.S. default would likely have an adverse effect on the market. "A delay that calls into question the federal government's ability to meet all its obligations would likely cause irreparable damage to the U.S. economy and global financial markets," she said.

Meanwhile, money moved out of bonds, causing the U.S. Treasury 10-year bond's yield to move to 1.33%.

Among the S&P sectors on Wednesday, utilities and consumer staples were among the few that rose. Technology and materials stocks underperformed. After a reign of outperformance by the Nasdaq in recent days, tech stocks have pulled back. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund fell 0.4%.

U.S. Stock Market Today Overview
Index	Symbol	Price	Gain/Loss	% Change
Dow Jones	(0DJIA)	35030.74	-69.26	-0.20
S&P 500	(0S&P5)	4514.15	-5.88	-0.13
Nasdaq	(0NDQC )	15286.64	-87.69	-0.57
Russell 2000		223.87	-2.52	-1.11
IBD 50		49.82	-0.75	-1.48
Last Update: 4:42 PM ET 9/8/2021

Elsewhere, the transportation sector also underperformed. IShares U.S. Transportation ETF fell 0.4% as well. IBD's airline, trucking, ocean shipping, airfreight and transportation equipment industry groups each fell more than 1%.

Inside the Dow Jones, financial technology stock Visa outperformed, rising over 1%. Shares remain beneath the 50-day moving average as they try to form a new flat base, according to MarketSmith analysis.

Growth Stocks To Watch

As for top growth stocks in the stock market, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF traded 1.5% lower, after last week's strong gains. The ETF slipped slightly below a 50.06 buy point. Stocks outperforming in the index included Upstart and Dynavax, which gained more than 4% and 3%, respectively.

IBD 50 leader Celsius Holdings, a fitness drink maker, became extended from the buy zone of an 83.10 consolidation entry. The stock broke out on Sept. 1 and has moved sideways inside the buy zone. But shares rose another 2% on Wednesday and closed just above the buy area.

Elsewhere, PayPal reversed lower and closed down 2.7%. PayPal announced before the open that it's acquiring Japan-based buy now, pay later company Paidy for $2.7 billion. Shares of PayPal are building the right side of a cup base with a 310.26 entry. The payments systems provider is testing support at the 50-day line.

Additionally, Square, another leader in the payments group, lost more than 4% and traded below its 50-day line. Square was removed from IBD Leaderboard as a half-size position. A decisive break of the 50-day or 10-week lines is a reliable sell signal for investors.

Follow Rachel Fox on Twitter at @foxonstocks for more Dow Jones and market commentary.