US STOCKS-Wall St retreats from all-time highs after strong run; Twitter slumps


Reuters | Washington DC | Updated: 11-01-2021 23:03 IST | Created: 11-01-2021 23:01 IST
US STOCKS-Wall St retreats from all-time highs after strong run; Twitter slumps
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Wall Street's main indexes slipped from record levels on Monday as investors locked in gains after a strong rally, with prospects of President Donald Trump's impeachment trial stoking fears of a delay in further pandemic relief.

U.S. House Democrats introduced a resolution containing a single article of impeachment against Trump, accusing him of inciting insurrection over a violent attack on the Capitol last week. "The market got a little bit worried that if the legislators get distracted with impeachment, the stimulus might get delayed or they might have more difficulty getting enough votes to get a larger package," said Thomas Hayes, managing member at Great Hill Capital LLC in New York.

"The market wants to see that (additional stimulus) get out as quickly as possible." Bets on a rebound in business activity in 2021 fueled by COVID-19 vaccine rollouts, larger stimulus checks and infrastructure spending under the Biden administration have underpinned Wall Street's rise to recent peaks, with focus shifting to economy-linked stocks from tech-heavy growth names.

Shares of the micro-blogging site Twitter Inc slumped 5.3% after it permanently suspended Trump's account. Its shares were still up about 178% since Trump took office in 2016. Other Big Tech firms Facebook Inc, Alphabet Inc-owned Google and Apple Inc fell between 1.1% and 2.0% as they took their strongest actions yet against Trump to limit his social media reach.

Eight of the 11 major S&P sectors were down with consumer discretionary being the biggest loser, weighed down by a near 5% drop in Tesla Inc after a 11-day winning streak. Healthcare stocks hit a record high for the fifth straight session.

After official data pointed to a significant slowdown in labor market recovery on Friday, investors will focus on inflation, retail sales and consumer sentiment indicators this week to gauge the extent of economic damage. Fourth-quarter results from JP Morgan, Citi and Wells Fargo on Friday will kick off the earnings season, which could offer more clues if company executives reflect the enthusiasm of a rebound in 2021 earnings and the economy.

"People are taking profits ahead of the earnings season, and investors are beginning to reflect on the market's heights," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York. "This Friday the earnings season begins, and with the market at high levels, the question is will this justify the current price-earnings structure."

At 12:02 p.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 75.17 points, or 0.24%, to 31,022.80, the S&P 500 lost 13.81 points, or 0.36%, to 3,810.87, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 89.28 points, or 0.68%, to 13,112.70. Boeing Co fell 2% after a 737-500 jet operated by Indonesia's Sriwijaya Air crashed on Saturday, with 62 people on board.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.7-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.2-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted 34 new 52-week highs and no new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 188 new highs and 8 new lows.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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