U.S. Stocks Move Modestly Lower Following Recent Strength

Stocks have moved modestly lower over the course of the trading session on Monday, giving back ground following recent strength. The major averages have all moved to the downside, although selling pressure has been somewhat subdued.

Currently, the major averages are just off their lows of the session. The Dow is down 158.95 points or 0.4 percent at 43,116.96, the Nasdaq is down 32.65 points or 0.2 percent at 18,456.90 and the S&P 500 is down 14.84 points or 0.3 percent at 5,849.83.

The modest weakness on Wall Street comes as some traders look to cash in on the recent strength in the markets, which has seen the major averages close higher for six straight weeks.

The advance has lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 to record highs, while the Nasdaq is also closing in on the record highs the tech-heavy index set in July.

Overall trading activity appears relatively light, however, as traders look ahead to the release of a slew of corporate earnings news from big-name companies.

3M (MMM), General Motors (GM), Verizon (VZ), Boeing (BA), Coca-Cola (KO), IBM Corp. (IBM), Tesla (TSLA) and UPS (UPS) are among the companies due to report their quarterly results this week.

Reports on durable goods orders and new and existing home sales are also likely to attract attention in the coming days along with the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book.

The Conference Board released a report this morning showing its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators fell by more than expected in the month of September.

The report said the leading economic index slid by 0.5 percent in September after falling by a revised 0.3 percent in August.

Economists had expected the leading economic index to decrease by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.2 percent dip originally reported for the previous month.

Sector News

Housing stocks have come under pressure over the course of the session, with the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index slumping by 1.9 percent after ending last Friday’s trading at a record closing high.

Considerable weakness has also emerged among commercial real estate stocks, as reflected by the 1.4 percent loss being posted by the Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index.

Telecom, biotechnology and banking stocks have also shown notable moves to the downside, while significant strength is visible among airline stocks.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index edged down by 0.1 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index has slipped by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both down by 0.7 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have moved notably lower over the course of the session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 8.1 basis points at 4.156 percent.

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