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Stocks retreated on Monday as rising yields overshadowed strong Goldman Sachs earnings, hot retail sales data and hopes that the conflict in the Middle East will not escalate further.
The Dow Jones Industrials stumbled 248.13 points to close Monday at 37,735.11. Monday’s losses pulled the blue-chip average near its 2024 flatline, a stunning turn after trading close to the 40,000 level just weeks prior.
The S&P 500 index fell back 61.59 points, or 1.2%, to 5,061.82.
The NASDAQ dwindled 290.08 points, or 1.8%, to 15,885.02.
The Dow was led down by Salesforce, which dropped more than 7% on reports that the software company was in talks to acquire data management firm Informatica. On the other hand, fellow Dow member Goldman Sachs popped about 3% after beating Wall Street expectations on both lines in the first quarter.
Wall Street also got a boost from fresh economic data. Retail sales increased 0.7% for the month of March, providing the latest indication that consumption remains strong in spite of inflationary pressures. That pace was higher than the 0.3% consensus forecast of economists polled by Dow Jones.
Monday’s action also comes of the heels of a tough week on Wall Street, as lingering inflation concerns and a poor start to the new corporate earnings season weighed on traders. Both the Dow and S&P 500 saw their worst weekly performances since 2023.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury tumbled, raising yields to 4.62% from Friday’s 4.51%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices ducked nine cents to $85,57 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices leaped $28.60 to $2,402.70 U.S. an ounce.
