US stocks drop, but Nasdaq up
Stocks indexes on Wall Street closed mostly lower Tuesday, though solid gains by Apple, Facebook and other tech heavyweights helped nudge the Nasdaq to another all-time high.
The S&P 500 lost ground after two straight weekly gains. Roughly 80% of companies in the benchmark index fell. Industrial and health care stocks were among the S&P 500’s biggest decliners. Household goods makers also weighed on the index, offsetting gains in communication services firms, technology stocks and a mix of companies that rely on consumer spending. Small company stocks also fell. The pullback in stocks came as traders returned from the Labor Day holiday weekend to a relatively light week of economic data. The last big economic snapshot, the August jobs report, came in weaker than expected last Friday, but stocks only slipped modestly on the news.
“We’re still kind of digesting Friday’s weak job number and the potential impact that might have with the economy,” said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist for LPL Financial.
The S&P 500 fell 15.40 points, or 0.3%, to 4,520.03. The index remains within 0.4% of the all-time high it set last Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 269.09 points, or 0.8%, to 35,100, while the technologyheavy Nasdaq composite rose 10.81 points, or 0.1%, to 15,374.33 it’s fourth consecutive record high.
Small company stocks declined. The Russell 2000 index lost 16.44 points, or 0.7%, to 2,275.61.
A rise in bond yields helped bank stocks. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.37% from 1.32% on Friday. Bank of America rose 0.7%.
Paint and coatings maker PPG Industries fell 3.4% after warning investors that supply chain problems and higher costs will hurt third-quarter sales. The announcement weighed on some of the company’s peers. Sherwin-Williams fell 1.5%.
Industrial sector stocks were among the S&P 500’s biggest decliners. Deere & Co. slid 4.5%, and 3M lost 8.8%.
Traders are back from their summer holidays, and volatility is expected to pick up in the coming days and weeks. Stocks churned higher throughout the summer, helped by stronger-than-expected earnings from big companies as well as guidance from the Federal Reserve that the central bank plans to keep interest rates low.
Investors have a few economic reports on tap for the week.
On Wednesday, the Labor Department will report job openings for July. The jobs market is still struggling to recover from the pandemic, and employers have been finding it difficult to fill openings amid lingering health fears and the possibility the resurgent virus could make it even more difficult.
On Friday, investors will get another update on inflation when the Labor Department reports on inflation at the wholesale level before costs are passed on to consumers.
Gold for December delivery fell $35.20 to $1,798.50 an ounce. Silver for December delivery fell 43 cents to $24.37 an ounce, and December copper fell 5 cents to $4.28 a pound.
The dollar rose to 110.30 Japanese yen from 109.85. The euro fell to $1.1846 from $1.1869