Stocks fell on Tuesday as Wall Street kicked off the holiday-shortened week with concern that maybe the best of the economic recovery from the pandemic is behind us. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 360 points, dragged down by losses in JPMorgan, Chevron and Goldman Sachs. The S&P 500 dipped 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite traded around the flatline after both averages hit records at the open. U.S. markets were closed for the July 4 Independence Day holiday on Monday. The S&P 500 is coming off a seven-day winning streak, its longest since August.
Investors are juggling several signs that the rapid economic growth from the depths of the pandemic could be peaking. The ISM Services index, a major gauge of the services sector, slowed to 60.1 in June from a record in the prior month, data released Tuesday showed. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a print of 63.5. This follows Friday’s jobs report, which showed the unemployment rate rose back up to 5.9% against the 5.6% expectation.
Bond yields also fell on Monday, with the 10-year Treasury yield below 1.4%, further evidence that investors are doubting the strength of the U.S. economy. Amazon rose nearly 3% to lead technology shares as Andy Jassy officially took over as CEO on Monday. Jeff Bezos is now the executive chairman of the board. Wall Street’s consensus year-end target for the S&P 500 stands at 4,276, representing a near 2% loss from the 500-stock average’s current level, according to the CNBC Market Strategist Survey that rounds up 16 top strategists’ forecasts.
Dow drops 350 points, S&P 500 is set to snap 7-day winning streak, CNBC, Jul 7