US stocks retreat from records
Wall Street stocks retreated on Monday, pulling back from records, as markets awaited key economic data and central bank actions later in the week. Besides key readings on the US jobs market and the state of the services industry, this week's calendar includes congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, President Joe Biden's State of the Union address and a European Central Bank decision. The Dow Jones finished down 0.3 percent at 38,989. The S&P 500 declined 0.1 percent to 5,130, while the Nasdaq fell 0.4 percent to 16,207. In Monday's action, investors "were sort of looking ahead... and recognising that there could be some potential market movers," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare. Investors moved "gingerly," but "all things considered, it's still acting quite well." Chip companies mostly rose, including artificial intelligence darling Nvidia, which climbed 3.6 percent. But Apple slumped 2.5 percent after the EU announced a 1.8 billion euro fine (US$1.9 billion) for violating the bloc's laws by preventing music streaming services from informing users about subscription options outside of its App Store. Apple immediately vowed to appeal the first ever anti-trust fine slapped on the tech giant by Brussels. Spirit Airlines sank 10.8 percent after it and JetBlue pulled the plug on their merger following an unfavourable US court ruling. JetBlue shares rose 4.3 percent. (AFP)