New York: US stocks were slightly lower at the open on Friday as investors took a breather following the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s three-day winning streak, which has kept the index firmly above the 20,000 mark.
The post-election rally reignited this week following a solid start to earnings season and optimism over President Donald Trump’s pro-growth initiatives, catapulting the Dow above the milestone for the first time on Wednesday.
All three major indexes were on track to post weekly gains.
“The market has had a strong, solid rally and there’s a pause to evaluate and react to the next set of data and other catalysts that could move the market,” said Andre Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital in Bernardsville, New Jersey.
Trump’s business-friendly decisions since taking office last Friday include signing executive orders to reduce regulatory burden on domestic manufacturers and clearing the way for the construction of two oil pipelines.
“Actions speak louder than words and the fact that Trump has signed numerous executive orders since his inauguration continues to heighten hopes of the proposed fiscal stimulus measures materialising,” said Lukman Otunuga, research analyst at FXTM.
At 10:01am. ET (1501 GMT) the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 5.99 points, or 0.03 per cent, at 20,094.92. The S&P 500 was down 2.22 points, or 0.09 per cent, at 2,294.46. The Nasdaq Composite was down 5.11 points, or 0.09 per cent, at 5,650.07.
Five of the 11 major S&P sectors were lower, with the energy index’s 0.49 per cent fall leading the decliners.
European stocks were headed for a weekly gain of about 1 per cent, though they were slightly lower on Friday as weakness in the banking shares weighed.
A fall in profits sent UBS shares down more than 3 per cent as investors locked in some gains following a strong rally in financials stocks following the US election. The European banking index fell 1.2 per cent.
In the UK, the FTSE was also slightly lower but outperformed other regional benchmarks supported by merger activity as leading supermarket operator Tesco snapped a smaller wholesaler. Tesco shares surged 10 per cent.
Chevron, which reported lower-than-expected results, was the biggest drag on the Dow and the S&P.
The S&P tech sector rose 0.32 per cent and was the second biggest gainer.
Microsoft rose 1.6 per cent to $65.26, while Intel gained 1.2 per cent to $38.03 after the two companies reported quarterly results above Wall Street expectations.
However, Google parent Alphabet was down 1.2 per cent at $847.13 after it posted fourth-quarter profit below analysts’ estimates.
US economic growth slowed more than expected in the fourth quarter with gross domestic product increasing at a 1.9 per cent annual rate, below the 2.2 per cent rise expected by economists.
Another set of data showed new orders for US-made capital goods increased more than expected in December, with Non-defense capital goods orders, excluding aircraft, rising 0.8 per cent.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a 0.5 per cent rise.
Starbucks fell 4.2 per cent to $56.01 after the world’s biggest coffee seller trimmed its full-year revenue forecast.
Colgate-Palmolive fell 5.4 per cent to $64.54 after the personal products maker’s fourth-quarter revenue missed estimates.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 1,655 to 969. On the Nasdaq, 1,337 issues fell and 1,066 advanced.
The S&P 500 index showed 16 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 60 new highs and 14 new lows.
