Wall Street ends lower as Apple and Tesla retreat

REUTERS: Wall Street ended lower on Tuesday, pulled down by Apple and Tesla, while materials stocks climbed as investors waited for the U.S. Congress to approve another stimulus package.

Following strong gains in the prior session, technology shares dipped in the resumption of a rotation by investors out of stocks that outperformed due to the coronavirus pandemic and into others viewed as likely to do well as the economy recovers. The S&P 500 materials and consumer staples sector indexes rose.

Yields on the benchmark 10-year Treasury bonds have stabilized after hitting a one-year high last week.

"Part of it is just because technology went up so much last year, and if interest rates are on the rise then the value of their future cash flows is diminished," said Tom Hainlin, global investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.

The S&P 500 on Monday logged its best day since June as markets cheered approval of a third COVID-19 vaccine in the United States and the U.S. House of Representatives' green light for a US$1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.

The U.S. Senate will start debating President Joe Biden's relief bill this week when Democrats aim to pass the legislation through a maneuver known as "reconciliation," which would allow the bill to pass with a simple majority.

Apple dipped about 2per cent and Tesla declined more than 4per cent, with the two companies contributing the most to the S&P 500's loss for the day.

The S&P 500 technology sector index dropped 1.6per cent, extending a pullback from late last month after a selloff in the U.S. bond market sparked fears over highly valued stocks. The consumer discretionary index dipped 1.3per cent, with Amazon falling 1.6per cent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.46per cent to end at 31,391.52 points, while the S&P 500 lost 0.81per cent to 3,870.29.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.69per cent to 13,358.79.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies declined 1.9per cent, trimming its gain in 2021 to about 13per cent, compared with the S&P 500's rise of 3per cent in the same period.

Heavily shorted mortgage provider Rocket Companies surged 71per cent in its third straight day of gains as the stock drew interest on Reddit’s popular WallStreetBets.

Kohl's Corp rose 0.6per cent after it posted holiday-quarter results beyond market expectations on a boost in online sales and as the company reined in costs.

TV ratings provider Nielsen jumped 7.6per cent after it sold its advanced video advertising business to television streaming platform provider Roku. Shares of Roku dropped 7.3per cent.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.36-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.64-to-1 ratio favored decliners.

The S&P 500 posted 30 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 165 new highs and 57 new lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 12.3 billion shares, compared with the 14.9 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.

(Reporting by Noel Randewich in Oakland, California; Additional reporting by Medha Singh and Shashank Nayar in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)