In this March 23, 2021 file photo, pedestrians walk past the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
By Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga
Technology and energy companies led stocks lower on Wall Street Monday, easing the market back from its recent all-time highs.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.1%, erasing an early gain. Technology companies accounted for a big share of the decline. Industrial and consumer-centric stocks also fell. Those losses outweighed gains in health care companies, banks and elsewhere in the market.
Energy companies slumped the most among S&P 500 stocks as the price of benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 2.6% to its lowest levels since May. The move lower follows a decline of 7.7% last week. Occidental Petroleum shed 3%.
Every major index was coming off weekly gains last week, which ended with record highs for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
The modest pullback is another example of the volatility the market has seen amid uncertainty over the impact COVID-19 variants will have on the economy and the Federal Reserve’s next monetary policy moves, said Sylvia Jablonski, chief investment officer at Defiance ETFs.
“People who got in and saw some of the stocks that they hold at all-time highs on Friday, perhaps they’re selling a little bit off today and might be opportunistically trading some of this volatility,” she said.
The S&P 500 fell 4.17 points to 4,432.35. The Dow dropped 106.66 points, or 0.3%, to 35,101.85. The Nasdaq added 24.42 points, or 0.2%, to 14,860.18.
Smaller companies fell more than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 index lost 12.95 points, or 0.6%, to 2,234.81.
Bond yields moved higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.32% from 1.28% late Friday. Bond yields tend to move with expectations for the economy and for inflation.
The latest round of corporate earnings is winding down, and nearly 90% of companies in the S&P 500 have reported their latest results. The reports have been mostly solid. Tyson Foods jumped 8.7% for one of the biggest gains in the S&P 500 Monday after handily beating Wall Street's profit forecasts.
Investors are also closely watching the world's reaction to the latest surge of the coronavirus. Some governments have reimposed limits on business and travel. China canceled flights as it tries to stop a rash of outbreaks. Australia’s two most populous states have told people to stay home except to go to work or for a handful of other reasons.
Analysts expect the U.S. and global economies to continue growing, but have cautioned that the resurgent virus could slow down the pace.
“That's one part of the story and that could be holding back" the stock market, said David Kelly, chief global strategist at JPMorgan Funds. “We don't really have a handle on how bad the delta variant might get.”
Investors have been taking in a steady stream of encouraging economic reports. The latest from the Labor Department shows that U.S. employers posted a record 10.1 million job openings in June. That follows Friday's report that the economy generated 943,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate fell to 5.4% from 5.9% in June.
The solid jobs figures also raise some concerns about wage inflation and the pace of economic growth.
“We’re burning our way back to full employment fast," Kelly said. “Once we get there the economy is going to slow down.”
The latest figures also raise concerns about inflation fueled by the improving job market, as employers are potentially forced to raise wages to fill jobs.
Investors will get another piece of data on inflation when the Labor Department releases its consumer price index for July on Wednesday. Wall Street is still trying to gauge how much inflation might rise as the economy recovers and whether that will push the Federal Reserve to trim back its support for the economy sooner than expected.
Major indexes Europe edged lower while indexes in Asia ended mixed.
Wine subscription service Winc is officially a publicly-traded company after debuting on the New York Stock Exchange. CEO Geoff McFarlane and President Brian Smith joined Cheddar to talk about the decision behind the public offering and noted that its service goes beyond just subscriptions. "We're an omnichannel platform, so the subscription is a great way for us to really generate a ton of data from our customers, launch new products, and market our portfolio," McFarlane said. "But ultimately when we find great products that our customers really love, we want them to be everywhere." He went on to point to distribution partners like Whole Foods, Walmart, and Trader Joe's.
Roy Banks, CEO of Weave Communication, a cloud-based software company for small businesses, joined Cheddar to talk about the company's New York Stock Exchange debut. Banks broke down just how his company helps small businesses manage relationships with their customer base and also laid out how the funds raised will be used to grow the business and its short and long term goals.
Jeff Powell, Managing Partner & CIO at Polaris Wealth Advisory Group, discusses how supply chain issues and inflation will impact consumer spending, and discusses the future of the electric vehicle market.
Sotheby's is getting into the crypto game. The auction house announced it will now be accepting bids in increments of ETH, marking the first time that an auction will field live bids in crypto. This announcement comes just a week ahead of Sotheby's contemporary art auction 'The Now Evening Auction' for two works by Banksy: Trolley Hunters and Love is in the Air. Alex Branczik, Sotheby's Chairman for Modern & Contemporary Art joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss what went into this move.
Jim Worden, Chief Investment Officer, Wealth Consulting Group, talks about the consumer spending headwinds and breaks down the bright spots from Disney's earnings and Rivian's IPO.
Autonomous tech developer Embark made its Nasdaq debut on Thursday via a SPAC merger, making its CEO Alex Rodrigues, the youngest chief executive of a publicly-traded company at the age of 26. He joined Cheddar's "Between Bells" to discuss what led to the IPO and what it means for the trucking industry as it looks to navigate ongoing supply chain issues. "I think there are really three major benefits to autonomous trucks. You think about the benefit from an efficiency perspective, from a safety perspective, and from an environmental perspective," Rodrigues noted.
AppHarvest CEO Jonathan Webb joined Cheddar's "Opening Bell" to talk about the company's Q3 earnings, stating sales data showed the indoor farming tech firm remained on track with its 2021 outlook. Webb also discussed a new campaign called "Fight The Food Fight," to encourage consumers to support a more resilient, sustainable food system.
Inflation hit a concerning milestone last month, rising by as much as 6.2 percent, the highest that it's been since 1990. Consumer pockets felt the increase the most in gas and food costs. Jason Ware, Chief Investment Officer at Albion Financial Group spoke to Cheddar about what lead to the spike in costs and if high inflation will be here to stay in 2022.
Mike Proulx, VP and research director at Forrester, joined Cheddar to talk all about Disney's lackluster Q3 earnings after the company reported a slowdown in Disney+ subscriber growth. Proulx discussed a Forrester study that found 45 percent of U.S. adults subscribed to streaming services because of the pandemic but 26 percent had plans to cancel a service over the next two years. "We're always going to look at growth, and we also have to look at engagement," he said. "But both of those metrics come down to having either original or exclusive content that will offer value to the subscriber base."
