Stocks slip on Wall Street as worldwide rally takes a pause | National
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A currency trader walks by 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, Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. Asian stock markets retreated Friday after a resurgence of coronavirus infections in China and a rise in cases in Southeast Asia.
A currency trader watches computer monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. Asian stock markets retreated Friday after a resurgence of coronavirus infections in China and a rise in cases in Southeast Asia.
Currency traders talk 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, Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. Asian stock markets retreated Friday after a resurgence of coronavirus infections in China and a rise in cases in Southeast Asia.
A currency trader watches computer monitors near the screens showing the foreign exchange rates at the foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. Asian stock markets retreated Friday after a resurgence of coronavirus infections in China and a rise in cases in Southeast Asia.
Stacey Cunningham, NYSE President, applauds as Michael Kliger, CEO, Mytheresa virtually rings the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021.
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is tapping the brakes on its record-setting rally this week, as markets worldwide take a pause on Friday.
The S&P 500 was 0.3% lower in early trading, a day after inching up to its second straight all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 189 points, or 0.6%, at 30.986, as of 9:50 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was down 0.1%.
Losses for stocks started early in Asia and then carried westward on worries about resurgent coronavirus cases in China and weak economic data from Europe. In the United States, disappointing earnings reports from IBM and some other companies gave cover for investors to sell and book profits after big recent gains. The S&P 500 is still on pace for a 1.9% weekly gain, its third in four weeks.
IBM dropped 10.5% for one of the sharpest losses in the market after it reported weaker revenue for the last three months of 2020 than analysts expected. The tech giant’s revenue has been mostly shrinking for years.
IBM nevertheless, though, reported a higher profit for the end of 2020 than Wall Street expected. That’s been the big theme so far in the early part of this earnings season, with about 13% of companies in the S&P 500 having reported. With bank and some other industries leading the way, profit reports have consistently come in better than Wall Street had feared.
