US stocks fall as investors turn more cautious following records

Stocks closed modestly lower on Wall Street Tuesday as investors turned cautious a day after major indexes closed at their latest record highs.

The S& P 500 slipped 0.2%, the benchmark index’s first decline in four days. Investors shifted money away from technology companies, which have been among of the biggest winners since the pandemic began. Industrial and financial stocks also fell broadly. Those losses outweighed gains in health care stocks and companies that rely on consumer spending.

Small- company stocks, which have been the biggest gainers this month, fell more than the rest of the market, pulling the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies 1.8% lower. The index is still on track to end the month 7.7% higher, more than twice as much as the S&P 500.

“That segment is probably due for a little bit of a pullback given its outperformance,” said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.

The S& P 500 fell 8.32 points to 3,727.04. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 68.30 points, or 0.2%, to 30,335.67. The techheavy Nasdaq slid 49.20 points, or 0.4%, to 12,850.22. The Russell 2000 gave up 36.89 points to 1,959.36.

The market’s pullback follows a strong, record-shattering run on Wall Street in recent weeks amid optimism that coronavirus vaccinations will pave the way in coming months for the economy to escape from the pandemic’s grip. With two days of trading left in 2020, the S&P 500 is up 15.4% this year, while the Nasdaq is up 43.2%.

Wall Street set fresh records on Monday after President Donald Trump signed a wide-ranging spending bill that includes $900 billion in COVID-19 aid and reams of other legislation on taxes, energy, education and health care. Investors hope that the measures will help tide the economy over until more people get vaccinations and help it through its pandemic-induced slump.

Treasury yields moved higher Tuesday, a sign of confidence in the economy. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 0.93% from 0.92% late Monday.