Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on Aug. 23, 2024.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
U.S. stocks fell on Monday after a strong week for the major averages, as investors awaited the release of major corporate earnings reports.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 330 points, or about 0.8%. The Nasdaq Composite hovered just above the flatline.
Consumer and homebuilder stocks were among the biggest losers during midday trading as fears about higher-for-longer interest rates crept up, with Target and Builders FirstSource each down more than 3.5%.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped, rising more than 10 basis points to 4.178%.
“Bond yields continue to back up, which implies to me that investors are now thinking that the Fed will be slower to lower interest rates because the economy remains resilient,” CFRA chief investment strategist Sam Stovall said. “As a result, the Fed will likely have a harder time pushing the inflation rate down to its target 2% level in the next year or so.”
Momentum behind the major U.S. indexes’ recent gains may also depend on whether companies can beat expectations this earnings season, which is set to ramp up this week. Roughly one-fifth of S&P 500 companies — including major names such as Tesla, Coca-Cola and GE Aerospace — are set to report through Friday.
Thus far, the results have been mixed. Of the 14% of S&P 500 companies that have already posted third-quarter results, 79% have beaten expectations, according to FactSet’s John Butters. Analysts have significantly downgraded their earnings expectations for the quarter in recent months.
“I don’t think that we are in the beginnings of an earnings recession or anything like that, but the bar has been set very, very low … rarely does anybody injure themselves falling out of a basement window,” Stovall said. “So with earnings this low, chances are that this will be the 60th quarter out of the past 62 in which actual results exceed end-of-quarter estimates.”
Still, investors are largely optimistic equities still have further room to run, but they are mindful that stretched valuations, particularly ahead of the U.S. presidential election and amid rising geopolitical risks, could also mean further choppiness.
Monday’s moves come after both the S&P 500 and 30-stock Dow registered all-time highs on Friday, cementing a sixth straight weekly advance for both benchmarks.
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