U.S. Stock Indices Fall After Best Weekly Gain Since February

Stocks fell in morning trading on Wall Street Monday, Dec. 13, 2021, in a sluggish start to the week following the market’s best weekly gain since February, Damian J. Troise reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: The Christmas tree lighting at the New York Stock Exchange

The S&P 500 fell 0.4% as of 10:20 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 222 points, or 0.6%, to 35,740 and the Nasdaq fell 0.4%. A wide range of retailers that rely on direct consumer spending led the losses. Hanesbrands fell 4.7%.

Automakers and travel-related companies also broadly fell. Ford fell 3.6% and Carnival shed 5.8%.

Bond yields fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.44% from 1.49% late Friday. That weighed on banks, which rely on higher bond yields to charge more lucrative interest on loans.

Capital One fell 2.5%. Industrial and energy companies also moved lower. Health care companies gained ground. Several big pharmaceutical companies were standouts, including COVID-19 vaccine makers. Pfizer rose 4.3% following news it is buying Arena Pharmaceuticals. Fellow vaccine maker Moderna rose 5.7%.

Harley-Davidson jumped 14.6% after saying it will take its electric motorcycle division public through a blank-check company, valuing the enterprise that has been part of the motorcycle maker for 10 years at $1.77 billion.

Investors will be monitoring several economic reports this week and the Federal Reserve to gain more insight into economic growth as 2021 comes to a close and the world continues to try and shake off the impact from COVID-19.

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