Energy, tech stocks give back some gains

Technology and energy companies helped pull stocks lower on Wall Street, a downbeat start to the week following the market’s best weekly gain since February.

On Monday, the S&P 500 fell 0.9 percent, giving back some of its gains after the benchmark index climbed to an all-time high Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.9 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite slid 1.4 percent.

Small-company stocks fared worse than the broader market in a signal that investors are concerned about economic growth. The Russell 2000 shed 1.4 percent.

The market’s pullback, with the S&P 500 fresh off its 67th all-time high this year, comes as investors look ahead to the Federal Reserve’s latest economic and interest rate policy update on Wednesday. Markets expect the central bank will announce plans to accelerate its timetable for reducing bond purchases aimed at keeping long-term interest rates low.

“What the Street is not sure about is when the Fed will actually start to raise interest rates,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA.

The S&P 500 fell 43.05 points to 4,668.97. The Dow slid 320.04 points to 35,650.95. The Nasdaq dropped 217.32 points to 15,413.28. The Russell 2000 gave up 31.31 points to 2,180.50.

Stocks have been mostly pushing higher, despite a volatile stretch in late November as worries about the rise of the omicron variant of the coronavirus initially roiled markets. Some of those concerns eased last week amid encouraging signs that the variant may be less dangerous than delta.

But remarks by U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson over the weekend may have dampened some traders’ optimism. Johnson warned Sunday that Britain faces a “tidal wave” of infections from the omicron variant, and announced a huge increase in booster vaccinations to strengthen defenses against it.

Several big pharmaceutical companies, including COVID-19 vaccine makers Moderna and Pfizer were among the biggest gainers in the S&P 500 Monday. Moderna jumped 5.8 percent for the biggest gain in the index. Pfizer rose 4.6 percent following news it is buying Arena Pharmaceuticals.

More than 60 percent of the stocks in the S&P 500 fell, with technology stocks, banks and a mix of companies that rely on consumer spending weighing the index down most. Nvidia fell 6.8 percent for the biggest drop in the S&P 500. Bank of America dropped 2.1 percent and General Motors slid 6.5 percent.

Energy stocks took some of the heaviest losses as the price of U.S. crude oil fell 0.5 percent. Devon Energy slid 5.4 percent.