The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Indexes slide below record levels
U.S. stocks closed slightly lower Monday, capping a mostly quiet day of trading that eased the market back from record highs set late last week.
Utilities and materials companies posted some of the biggest losses. Energy stocks led the gainers, even as crude oil prices declined. Technology companies and banks also bucked the downward trend. Google parent Alphabet closed above $1,000 a share for the first time.
The dip snapped a twoday winning streak for stocks, which have been mostly pushing higher this year. The major stock market indexes hit new highs last Thursday and Friday.
“Equities are digesting the gains from last week,” said Michael Baele, senior portfolio manager at U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dipped 2.97 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,436.10. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 22.25 points, or 0.1 percent, to 21,184.04. The Nasdaq composite index lost 10.11 points, or 0.2 percent, to 6,295.68.
Small-company stocks fell more than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 slid 8.94 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,396.45. Three stocks fell for every two that rose on the New York Stock Exchange.
Encouraging economic data, low interest rates, strong consumer confidence and solid company earnings have helped keep investors in a buying mood this year, driving U.S. stocks higher.
“All these positives are holding the market up here and are likely to help stocks grind higher for the rest of the year,” Baele said.
Even so, trading got off to a subdued start Monday and largely remained that way, reflecting a dearth of new major economic data and relatively few company earnings releases.
Traders had their eye on geopolitical developments, including the terror attacks in London over the weekend and the decision by a Saudi-led coalition to withdraw their diplomatic staff from Qatar over its support for Islamist groups and its relations with Iran.
Benchmark U.S. crude slid 26 cents, or 0.5 percent, to close at $47.40 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell 48 cents, or 1 percent, to close at $49.47 a barrel in London.
Bond prices fell. The 10year Treasury yield inched up to 2.18 percent from 2.19 percent late Friday, when it sank to its lowest level of the year.
Investors bid up shares of some technology companies, giving the sector a slight gain. Among them: Google’s parent Alphabet, which eclipsed the $1,000 per share threshold for the first time.