Stocks end lower after early rally
Stocks closed mostly lower on Wall Street after an early rally faded, extending the market’s recent pullback from record highs.
The S&P 500 fell 0.4% Monday after having been up 0.9% in the early going. The reversal handed the benchmark index its fourth consecutive decline, something that hasn’t happened since September. Losses in the financial, industrial and health care sectors accounted for much of the decline, outweighing gains by technology stocks and companies that rely on consumer spending. Treasury yields were mostly higher, a sign of optimism in the economy.
Stocks initially headed higher as Americans began receiving the country’s first vaccinations against COVID-19, a process that’s expected to take months. Meanwhile, investors are still waiting to see whether Congress can break a logjam on delivering more aid to people, businesses and local governments affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The S&P 500 fell 15.97 points to 3,647.49. The index declined 1% last week, its worst weekly performance since Halloween.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 184.82 points, or 0.6%, to 29,861.55. The Nasdaq rose 62.17 points, or 0.5%, to 12,440.04. Smaller companies held up better than their larger rivals, an indication that investors are feeling more confident about the economy’s prospects. The Russell 2000 index gained 2.16 points, or 0.1%, to 1,913.86.
Hospital workers are unloading the first batches of a coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech. Health care workers and nursing home residents will be first in line for vaccinations.
Such optimism has helped Wall Street’s rally broaden out beyond Big Tech stocks, which were pulling the market higher almost singlehandedly earlier in the pandemic, though Monday’s pullback dragged down many of the companies that desperately need the economy to get healthier and reopen. American Airlines dropped 2.1%, while Carnival slid 1.8%. Marriott International gave up 1.5%.
Alexion Pharmaceuticals soared 29.2% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500. It’s the first trading day for the stock since AstraZeneca said on Saturday that it would buy the company for $39 billion in cash and stock.