WALL Street stocks dipped on Monday, retreating from records ahead of new inflation data expected to influence US monetary policy.
“There is a lot of uncertainty about the Fed policy,” said economist Hugh Johnson, who pointed to a wide range of views on what the US central bank will do in 2024.
The market’s other big preoccupation is lofty equity valuations after a series of records on the Dow and S&P 500, Johnson said.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.2 per cent at 39,069.23, pulling back from an all-time high.
The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 0.4 per cent to 5,069.53, also declining from a record, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 0.1 per cent to 15,976.25.
This week’s calendar includes the personal consumption expenditures price index, which the Fed studies closely for pricing and inflation trends.
Other reports include consumer confidence and durable goods orders.
Among individual companies, Google parent Alphabet dropped 4.5 per cent on worries about the company’s Gemini artificial intelligence program.
Google blocked users from creating images of people on the newly launched AI tool, after the program depicted Nazi-era troops as people from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
Kroger fell 2.0 per cent after the Federal Trade Commission sued to block the company’s US$24.6 billion acquisition of fellow supermarket chain Albertsons. Albertsons climbed 0.7 per cent. AFP
