Wall Street pauses and S&P 500’s winning streak snaps

Wall Street paused on Thursday, and the S&P 500 fell for the first time in five days as stocks that had held steadiest through this year’s feverish swings gave back some of their gains.

The S&P 500 lost 10.52 points, or 0.3 percent, to 3,112.35 after being on track earlier in the day for its longest winning streak since December. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 11.93 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 26,281.82, and the Nasdaq composite fell 67.10, or 0.7 percent, to 9,615.81.

A report showed that the number of U.S. workers filing for unemployment benefits eased for a ninth straight week, roughly in line with the market’s expectations. But economists saw pockets of disappointment after the total number of people getting benefits rose slightly. That number had dropped the prior week, which had raised hopes that some companies were rehiring workers.

Many professional investors have been arguing that the stock market’s rally, which had reached nearly 40 percent since late March, was overdone and that a pullback was likely coming. Stocks began surging following massive aid for the economy from Washington. More recently, they’ve climbed on optimism that the recession created by the reaction to the coronavirus outbreak could end relatively quickly as states and countries lift lockdown restrictions.

Critics point to how the gains for stocks seem to assume a quicker recovery for the economy than some economists expect, along with the risks of rising U.S.-China tensions and the possibility of second waves of coronavirus infections.