US stocks fall as investors turn cautious following records
Stocks edged lower in afternoon trading on Tuesday as investors turn cautious a day after major indexes closed at their latest record highs.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.2%, placing the benchmark index on track for its first decline in four days. Investors shifted money away from technology companies, which have among some of the biggest winners since the pandemic began. Industrial and financial stocks also fell broadly.
Those losses outweighed gains in health care stocks and companies that rely on consumer spending. Treasury yields were mostly higher, though, a sign of confidence in the economy.
The market’s pullback follows a strong, record-shattering run on Wall Street in recent weeks amid optimism that coronavirus vaccinations will pave the way in coming months for the economy to escape from the pandemic's grip.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 72 points, or 0.2%, to 30,333 as of 3:02 p.m. Eastern. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 0.4%. Smaller company stocks were taking some of the biggest losses, sending the Russell 2000 index 2.3% lower. The index is still on track to end the month 7% higher.
Wall Street set fresh records on Monday after President Donald Trump signed a wide-ranging spending bill that includes $900 billion in COVID-19 aid and reams of other legislation on taxes, energy, education and health care. Investors hope that the measures will help tide the economy over until more people get vaccinations and help it through its pandemic-induced slump.
“We’re kind of seeing the same thing we've been seeing, the dichotomy between where the financial markets are and where the actual economy is,” said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist for Allianz Investment Management.
The recent round of aid from Washington was mostly expected and it...