Profit-taking sends US markets into reverse
US stock markets retreated on Tuesday, giving back a fraction of the gains from recent weeks amid talk that markets are overbought. Major indices spent most of the day in the red, finishing modestly lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.7 percent to 34,054. The S&P 500 dipped 0.5 percent to 4,388, while the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.2 percent at 13,667. "Markets don't go up every day and every week," said Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers. "It's reasonable to expect them to see a little profit taking every now and again. I think so far, that's what we've seen," he added, referring to the process of selling shares when the asset has grown in price. After a difficult 2022, US stocks have been enjoying a solid 2023, particularly over the last two months on bullish sentiment over artificial intelligence advances and anticipation of an imminent shift in Federal Reserve policy. Investors are also more hopeful the US can avert a recession, with the Fed's interest rate hikes seen slowing growth but not resulting in a "hard landing" for the economy. Government data released on Tuesday showed new home construction reached in May its highest level in more than a year. Among individual companies, shares of Warner Bros. Discovery dropped 4.8 percent following a disappointing first weekend of "The Flash," a new live-action superhero movie. Eli Lilly rose 1.0 percent after announcing it will acquire Dice Therapeutics, which develops oral therapeutics. Dice jumped 37.2 percent. Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba tumbled 4.5 percent after announcing new executive leadership as it looks to recover from years of slow growth caused by weak consumer spending and a regulatory crackdown. (AFP)