Stocks closed lower on
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
Stocks were down in afternoon trading Tuesday, giving up more of their recent gains as investors weighed the latest batch of company earnings reports for clues about the health of Corporate America.
The S&P 500 index was down 0.9% as of
Bond yields fell and weighed down banks, which rely on higher yields to charge more lucrative interest on loans. The yield on the 10-year
Technology stocks accounted for the biggest share of the decline in stocks, putting more pressure on the broader market.
The broader market took a more defensive posture as utilities, real estate stocks and a mix of companies that make consumer staples like food and household products gained ground. General Mills rose 1.5% and Clorox rose 2.8%.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks, which has been outpacing the broader market all year, was taking the brunt of the losses, shedding 2.4%.
The market has been swaying between gains and record highs to pullbacks as investors weigh solid economic growth against the risks still posed by the virus pandemic. That push and pull will likely continue as vaccine distribution rolls on and various industries reopen.
“Overall, we’re going to have some volatility in the market this year, but everything to me looks fairly rosy for the next six months or so,” said
Investors are in the middle of first-quarter earnings season. Roughly 80 members of the S&P 500 will report their results this week, as well as one out of every three members of the Dow.
On average, analysts expect quarterly profits across the S&P 500 to be up 24% from a year earlier, according to FactSet.
Markets in
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