Wall Street finishes lower as Apple and Tesla retreat

WALL STREET ended lower on Tuesday, pulled down by Apple and Tesla, while materials stocks climbed as investors waited for the US Congress to approve another stimulus package.

Following strong gains in the prior session, technology shares dipped in the resumption of a rotation by investors out of stocks that outperformed due to the coronavirus pandemic and into others viewed as likely to do well as the economy recovers. The S&P 500 materials and consumer staples sector indexes rose.

Yields on the benchmark 10year Treasury bonds have stabilized after hitting a one-year high last week.

The S&P 500 on Monday logged its best day since June as markets cheered approval of a third

COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) vaccine in the United States and the US House of Representatives’ green light for a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.

The US Senate will start debating President Joseph R. Biden’s relief bill this week when Democrats aim to pass the legislation through a maneuver known as “reconciliation,” which would allow the bill to pass with a simple majority.

Apple dipped about 2% and Tesla declined more than 4%, with the two companies contributing the most to the S&P 500’s loss for the day.

The S&P 500 technology sector index dropped 1.6%, extending a pullback from late last month after a selloff in the US bond market sparked fears over highly valued stocks. The consumer discretionary index dipped 1.3%, with Amazon falling 1.6%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.46% to end at 31,391.52 points, while the S&P 500 lost 0.81% to 3,870.29. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.69% to 13,358.79.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies declined 1.9%, trimming its gain in 2021 to about 13%, compared with the S&P 500’s rise of 3% in the same period.

Heavily shorted mortgage provider Rocket Companies surged 71% in its third straight day of gains as the stock drew interest on Reddit’s popular WallStreetBets.

Kohl’s Corp. rose 0.6% after it posted holiday-quarter results beyond market expectations on a boost in online sales and as the company reined in costs.

TV ratings provider Nielsen jumped 7.6% after it sold its advanced video advertising business to television streaming platform provider Roku. Shares of Roku dropped 7.3%.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the New Yorks Stock Exchange (NYSE) by a 1.36-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.64-to-1 ratio favored decliners.

The S&P 500 posted 30 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 165 new highs and 57 new lows.

Volume on US exchanges was 12.3 billion shares, compared with the 14.9 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. —