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The S&P 500 closed down and the Nasdaq snapped a 10-session winning streak on Wednesday as investors took profits in Apple shares, while the Dow eked out another record high close.
Boosting the Dow were consumer discretionary shares, including McDonald’s, up 3.9 per cent at 98.66, which also helped to limit losses on the S&P 500.
The S&P 500 consumer discretionary index added 0.8 per cent with the shares of TJX up 3.3 percent at $69.38 after results. Target edged up 0.3 per cent to $77.15 after a stronger-than-expected jump in same-store sales and profits for the fourth quarter.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s testimony to a House of Representatives committee provided few new clues for investors on the timing of an interest rate hike.
Apple shares dropped 2.6 per cent to $128.79, retracing recent gains. The stock is still up 16.6 per cent for the year so far.
“It’s a big hedge fund stock, and there’s always the potential for some profit-taking among some shorter-term players,’’ especially after the stock’s big run-up, said Rick Meckler, president of LibertyView Capital Management in Jersey City, New Jersey.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 15.38 points or 0.08 per cent to 18,224.57, a record close. The S&P 500 lost 1.62 points or 0.08 per cent to 2,113.86 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.99 points or 0.02 per cent to 4,967.14.
Energy shares climbed with sharp gains in oil prices. The S&P energy index was up 0.4 per cent, while US crude oil prices rose 3.5 per cent to $50.99.
Also lending support, data showed single-family home sales in January fell less than expected and supply rose to its highest level since 2010.
Hewlett-Packard shares tumbled 9.9 per cent to $34.67 as the worst performer on the S&P 500. The world’s No. 2 PC maker reported flat or lower quarterly revenue in all of its operating units and forecast full-year earnings well below analysts’ expectations.
About 6.2 billion shares changed hands on US exchanges, below the 6.8 billion average for the month to date, according to BATS Global Markets.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 1,697 to 1,359, for a 1.25-to-1 ratio on the upside; on the Nasdaq, 1,473 issues rose and 1,233 fell, for a 1.19-to-1 ratio favouring advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 59 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 120 new highs and 23 new lows.
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