Major U.S. stock indexes fell from record levels on Monday as investors sought cues from first-quarter earnings reports to justify the rich valuation of equities, while Tesla shares fell following a fatal car crash.
The electric-car maker was down 3.5% after a Tesla vehicle, which was believed to be operating without anyone in the driver s seat, crashed into a tree on Saturday night north of Houston, killing two occupants.
The stock, which was the biggest drag on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, was also under pressure due to a sharp drop in bitcoin over the weekend.
Coca-Cola Co rose 1% after the beverage maker trounced estimates for quarterly profit and revenue, benefiting from the easing of pandemic curbs and wide vaccine rollouts.
The three main Wall Street indexes ended Friday higher for the day and week, with the S&P 500 and the Dow breaking closing records, as investors took strong economic data and bank earnings as signs of momentum in the U.S. pandemic recovery.
Nine of the 11 S&P sub-sectors rose on Friday. The energy and information technology indexes were the exceptions. The former, dipping 0.9%, was weighed by lower oil prices, while the latter was marginally lower, the day after its highest-ever close.
The S&P 500 and the Dow Industrials recorded their fourth straight week of gains. The S&P 500 scored three closing highs this week, while the Dow surpassed its best finish two days running.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones indexes hit record highs on Thursday, as upbeat earnings reports from companies including Bank of America and BlackRock as well as a strong rebound in March retail sales bolstered hopes of a broader economic rebound.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 223.64 points, or 0.66%, at the open to 33,954.31.
The S&P 500 opened higher by 28.10 points, or 0.68%, at 4,152.75, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 152.39 points, or 1.10%, to 14,009.91 at the opening bell.
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At the same time, fears about an overheating economy and a recent increase in interest rates have increased scrutiny on the Fed s two-day meeting, where policymakers are likely to raise economic forecasts and repeat their pledge to remain accommodative for the foreseeable future.