The major U.S. indexes have rallied by roughly 3% over the past five trading days, so it's unsurprising investors are taking a breather.
U.S. stock futures were little changed Wednesday morning.
On Tuesday, the Nasdaq finished at its highest level since September 2000. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is trading 3% below its all-time high, while the S&P 500 is less than 2% shy of its record peak.
Traders have pushed markets higher as worries about the possibility of U.S.-led military strikes on Syria faded. It now looks like a diplomatic resolution may be possible after the Syrian government said it would be willing to turn over its chemical weapons.
"A combination of falling crude prices (down 4% since Friday), a potential back down in the threat of a US military strike in Syria and yesterday's firmer Chinese industrial production data combined to give the S&P500 (+0.73%) its longest winning streak since July," wrote Deutsche Bank analyst Jim Reid in a client note.
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Apple (AAPL) shares fell more than 4% premarket, a day after the company unveiled two new iPhones that met with lukewarm reception. Separately, Apple got the OK to run iPhones on China Mobile's exclusive network, in the latest sign that a deal between the two firms may be in the works.
Investors will also be keeping tabs on Verizon (VZ). The telecom giant is expected to announce a record $49 billion bond sale to help fund its Verizon Wireless purchase from Vodafone (VOD), according to news reports.
"The previous record was set by Apple which 'only' launched $17bn back in May," Reid noted. (Apple prices record $17 billion bond sale)
European markets were muddled in morning trading, with some indexes edging up while others shifted lower. Asian markets closed with relatively flat results.
