New York Report: Stocks drop off their highs for a second day
US STOCKS fell yesterday, with the Dow and the S&P 500 retreating further from milestone levels, led by a slide in Best Buy after a disappointing outlook.
Charles Evans, president of the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank, said that the Fed may need to wait until next year, possibly until March, before beginning to wind down its massive bond-purchase programme.
And cautious forecasts from Best Buy and Campbell Soup gave investors a reason to sell stock. Best Buy shares slid 11 per cent to close at $38.78, while Campbell Soup fell 6.2 per cent to $39.21.
Meanwhile, Tesla Motors shares rose 3.7 per cent.
The Dow briefly rose above 16,000 but failed to close above that level for the second day. The S&P 500 retreated further from the 1,800 level it hit on Monday. Despite the two-day decline, the S&P 500 is still up about 25 per cent for the year. The benchmark index is on track for its biggest yearly gain since 2003.
“The last couple of days have been a bit choppy, signalling a top here, but the market is extremely resilient to any bad news and funds continue to flow into stocks and risky assets from bonds and fixed income,” said Tim Ghriskey, who helps manage more than $1.5bn as chief investment officer of Solaris Asset Management LLC.
The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 8.99 points, or 0.06 per cent, to end at 15,967.03. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index declined 3.66 points, or 0.2 per cent, to finish at 1,787.87. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 17.51 points, or 0.44 per cent, to close at 3,931.55.