Stocks open lower on Wall Street, pulling below record highs | National News
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A currency trader walks by the screen showing the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021. Asian stocks were mostly higher Tuesday after Wall St. rose to a new record.
Currency traders watch computer monitors near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rates at the foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021. Asian stocks were mostly higher Tuesday after Wall St. rose to a new record.
Currency traders watch computer monitors near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021. Asian stocks were mostly higher Tuesday after Wall St. rose to a new record.
FILE – This Nov. 23, 2020 file photo shows the New York Stock Exchange, right, in New York. Banks and energy companies are helping to lead stocks mostly lower in early trading on Wall Street, a day after major indexes set their latest record highs. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% in the early going Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021.
Stocks were slightly lower in early trading on Tuesday, after the major stock market indexes hit record highs the day before. Investors continue to keep their eyes on Washington, where it appears Democrats plan to move ahead without Republican help on a major stimulus bill for the economy.
The S&P 500 index fell 0.1% as of 9:55 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.1%. The Russell 2000 index of small company stocks was down 0.2%.
A slight pullback after six straight days of gains is not uncommon, as investors pause during a rally to reassess and wait for more economic data to see where the market goes next.
Several companies were making big moves after reporting their latest quarterly results. Hanesbrands soared almost 20% after reporting earnings that came in well ahead of what analysts were expecting.
Stocks have been moving steadily higher for several days as Wall Street becomes more optimistic that the worst parts of the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic might be in the rearview mirror. Vaccine rollouts continue both in the U.S. and globally, with the U.S. administrating hundreds of thousands of doses per day at this point.
