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Financial Markets 10/21 15:19
NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks edged back from their all-time highs Monday as
some of the steam came out of Wall Street's long, record-breaking rally.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.2%, coming off a sixth straight winning week, its
longest such streak of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 344
points, or 0.8%, from its own record that was likewise set on Friday, while the
Nasdaq composite rose 0.3%.
Trading was mixed in markets around the world. Crude oil prices rose to
regain some of last week's sharp losses, while U.S. Treasury yields climbed and
stock indexes mostly fell in Europe after finishing mixed in Asia.
The rise in yields helped knock down stocks that tend to get hurt by higher
interest rates, such as big dividend payers and businesses in the housing
industry. Real-estate stocks fell to the sharpest loss among the 11 sectors
that make up the S&P 500 index, while homebuilders Lennar and D.R. Horton both
fell at least 4.3%. Home Depot's 2.1% drop was one of the heaviest weights on
the S&P 500.
The declines mean at least a pause in Wall Street's rally to records, which
was built in large part on optimism that the U.S. economy can make a perfect
escape from the worst inflation in generations, one that ends without a painful
recession that many investors had worried could be inevitable. With the Federal
Reserve now cutting interest rates to keep the economy humming, the expectation
among optimists is that stocks can rise even further.
But critics are warning that stock prices look too expensive given how much
faster they've climbed than corporate profits.
That puts pressure on companies to deliver growth in profits to justify
their stock prices, and more than 100 companies in the S&P 500 are scheduled to
give details this week about their performances during the summer. That
includes such heavyweights as AT&T, Coca-Cola, IBM, General Motors and Tesla.
Tesla slipped 0.8% ahead of its report. Its stock has been shaky recently,
including a tumble after an update on its highly anticipated robotaxi included
fewer details than investors were hoping for.
Boeing is reporting its latest results on Wednesday. It rose 3.1% after
reaching an agreement with the union representing its striking machinists on a
contract proposal. The union's members could vote Wednesday on the deal, which
could end a costly walkout that has crippled production of airplanes for more
than a month.
Spirit Airlines soared 53.1% after the carrier was able to extend a
credit-card processing agreement. Coming into the day, the airline's stock had
lost 91% in the year so far following the cancellation of its planned merger
with JetBlue.
Trump Media & Technology Group rose 5.8% to top $31, continuing its strong
run since it briefly dipped below $12 last month. The company behind former
President Donald Trump's Truth Social platform is still losing money, but its
stock often moves more with his perceived chances of reelection than anything
else.
Markets appear to be rotating towards a possible Trump win, according to
Michael Wilson and other strategists at Morgan Stanley. They point to how
stocks of financial companies have helped to lead the market this month, and
consumer companies that could be hurt by tariffs are lagging. Bond yields are
also rising, along with some precious metals prices and cryptocurrencies.
All told, the S&P 500 fell 10.69 points Monday to 5,853.98. The Dow dropped
344.31 to 42,931.60, and the Nasdaq composite rose 50.45 to 18,540.00.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.19% from
4.08% late Friday.
This upcoming week doesn't include many top-tier economic reports to move
Treasury yields. A preliminary update will arrive on Thursday about U.S.
business activity.
The Bank of Canada will also announce its latest decision on interest rates
Wednesday, where it could cut by half a percentage point.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in China after its central bank
cut a couple lending rates. Lower rates can help reduce pressure on borrowers,
particularly the property developers that have suffered following a crackdown
on excessive borrowing several years ago. But any impact on market sentiment
appeared to be short-lived.
Stocks rose 0.2% in Shanghai but fell 1.6% in Hong Kong. Chinese stocks have
been zooming higher and lower in recent weeks. A slowdown for the world's
second-largest economy has raised expectations for big stimulus from the
Chinese government and central bank, though doubts are still prevalent about
how much effect they will have.
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AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
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