Stock Take a Breather Ahead of Earnings; Corporate Earnings Season Is Expected to Provide Test
Stocks eased, as investors paused following last week's push to records and looked ahead to the start of the second-quarter earnings season.</br></br>The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 44.05, or 0.3%, to 17024.21, briefly dipping below 17000 in intraday trading. The S&P 500 index sank 7.79 points, or 0.4%, to 1977.65.</br></br>The pullback comes a session after those major indexes hit records. The Dow rose above 17000 for the first time ever on Thursday, following June's stronger-than-expected report on U.S. jobs. The market was closed Friday for July Fourth.</br></br>Shares of small companies and technology stocks declined the most. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 34.40 points, or 0.8%, to 4451.53. The Russell 2000 small-cap index declined 21.41 points, or 1.8%, to 1186.74.</br></br>Traders cast Monday's pullback as a breather following last week's brisk rally, with market participants awaiting further insight into Federal Reserve officials' thinking on interest rates later in the week, as well as the start of the second-quarter earnings season. Trading volumes were light, they said. Many investors said the coming corporate earnings season will provide a test for stocks.