Wall Street slips in slow day of trading

March still likely to be winner for S&P 500’s monthslong run

NEW YORK — Wall Street edged back further from its record heights on Monday to start a shortened trading week.

The S&P 500 slipped 15.99 points, or 0.3 percent, to 5,218.19 in a quiet day of trading.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 162.26, or 0.4 percent, to 39,313.64, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 44.35, or 0.3 percent, to 16,384.47.

The market tapped the brakes after its big run last week, which was its best of the year and sent all three indexes to records on Thursday.

Stocks climbed as the Federal Reserve indicated it’s still likely to deliver several cuts to interest rates this year if inflation keeps cooling.

That has the S&P 500 on track for another winning month in what has been a nearly unstoppable run since late October. The strength has been durable as the economy has remained resilient, “but the longer the market goes up without a notable pullback, the closer we come to such a move taking place,” according to Chris Larkin, managing director, trading and investing at E-trade from Morgan Stanley.

For the market to continue rallying, more companies will need to deliver strong earnings growth to justify high prices, strategists at Morgan Stanley say.

United Airlines weighed on the market and lost 3.4 percent. Federal regulators are increasing their oversight of the company after several recent issues, including a piece of the outer fuselage falling off one jet and a plane losing a tire during takeoff.

Boeing trimmed some of its sharp losses for the year and rose 1.4 percent. Beset by worries about its safety and quality of manufacturing, the plane maker announced a shakeup to its management. Among the moves is the departure of its CEO, set for the end of the year.

Despite a string of reports that showed inflation remaining hotter than expected, the Federal Reserve seems to expect inflation to continue its longer-term cooling trend.

Traders largely expect the Federal Reserve to start cutting rates in June. That would offer relief for the economy because the Fed’s main rate has been sitting at its highest level since 2001 for nearly eight months.

In the bond market, Treasury yields climbed. The 10-year yield rose to 4.24 percent from 4.20 percent late Friday.

The U.S. stock and bond markets will be closed in observance of Good Friday.