Stocks moved to the downside at the start of trading on Monday, giving back some ground following a recent upward move. The major averages have slid into negative territory, with the Dow pulling back off a record closing high.
The major averages are currently posting modest losses, near their lows of the young session. The Dow is down 23.48 points or 0.2 percent at 14,373.59, the Nasdaq is down 8.32 points or 0.3 percent at 3,236.05 and the S&P 500 is down 3.25 points or 0.2 percent at 1,547.93.
Profit taking has contributed to the early weakness on Wall Street, with some traders cashing in on the recent strength in the markets.
Some negative sentiment has been generated by news that Fitch Ratings downgraded Italy’s Long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings to ‘BBB+’ from ‘A-‘.
Fitch said the downgrade reflects that inconclusive results of the Italian parliamentary elections, which the firm said make it unlikely a stable new government can be formed in the next few weeks.
Nonetheless, selling pressure is relatively subdued, as traders seem wary of selling stocks and missing out on any further upside for the markets.
A relatively quiet day on both these corporate and economic news fronts is also keeping some traders on the sidelines.
Steel, oil service and airline stocks are moving to the downside in early trading, although most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Monday. Japan’s Nikki 225 Index advanced by 0.5 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.4 percent.
The major European markets have also turned mixed on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.3 percent and the German DAX Index is down by 0.2 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are moving modestly higher following a notable move to the downside in recent sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 1.1 basis points at 2.045 percent.
by RTT Staff Writer
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