Dow posts biggest drop since May, 2017 as US stocks tumble

NEW YORK (AFP) – Wall Street stocks tumbled for a second straight session Tuesday, with the Dow posting the largest decline since May, as health care shares sank on worries about Amazon's push into the sector.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.4 percent to 26,076.89, the biggest drop in percentage terms in more than eight months.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 1.1 percent to 2,822.43, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.9 percent to 7,402.48.

US stocks spent most of January on a nearly uninterrupted climb to ever-higher records, but have fallen this week. They were pressured by a spike in Treasury bond yields ahead of a Federal Reserve policy announcement Wednesday that could signal an acceleration in interest rate increases this year.

Investors also are watching for President Donald Trump's State of the Union address late Tuesday.

Adding to the mix, Amazon joined forces Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase to announce the creation of a company to address runaway health care costs.

Health-related shares were broadly lower, with health insurers UnitedHealth Group losing 4.4 percent and Cigna 7.2 percent. Others with big drops included Walgreens Boots Alliance, which lost 5.2 percent and Merck, which shed 1.6 percent.

''Investors have continually asked what unexpected development might spoil the strong investor sentiment towards managed care,'' BMO Capital Markets healthcare analyst Matthew Borsch said in a note.