(FILES) This file photo taken on March 11, 2015 shows people walking past the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) building in New York. Wall Street opened lower on January 12, 2017 but the Dow Jones Industrial Average remained within shouting distance of the 20,000 mark as investors awaited Friday earnings reports from major US banks. US stocks have held on to gains in their post-election rally but seem to be taking a breather in advance of next week's inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. Investors have been exuberant recently in hopes of economic stimulus by Trump, including tax cuts and infrastructure spending. / AFP PHOTO / JEWEL SAMAD
NEW YORK: Wall Street’s main indexes on Thursday got off to their worst start this year after Donald Trump gave little clarity on his promises for economic growth that had powered a record-breaking rally on Wall Street for two months.
The US President-elect, in his first news conference on Wednesday, gave no details on tax cuts or infrastructure spending, and instead lashed out at US spy agencies and news agencies over what he called a ‘phony’ Russia dossier.
He also blasted pharmaceutical companies over high drug prices, causing health stocks to snap a six-day winning streak and a wobble in Wall Street.
“The indices are trading lower as investors rethink yesterday Trump press conference,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial in New York.
“The fact that there was no mention of fiscal policy is weighing on the greenback this morning (and) causing a cautious mood in the equity arena.”
At 9:39am ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 85.36 points, or 0.43%, at 19,868.92, the S&P 500 was down 8.55 points, or 0.38%, at 2,266.77 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 26.91 points, or 0.48%, at 5,536.74.
The three indexes experienced their biggest one-day drop since Dec 30.
Ten of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were lower, with the technology, financial and industrial sectors all down 0.5% or more.
The energy sector was the only one with gains, boosted by a more-than-2% rise in oil prices.
The dollar recovered slightly, but continued to trade close to a one-month low. Prices of safe-haven gold rose to their highest since late November.
With Trump’s comments at the back of their minds, investors will turn their focus to the earnings season, which will kick off in earnest on Friday when a trio of big banks report.
S&P 500 companies’ earnings in the fourth quarter are estimated to have risen 5.7% - the best in three years - largely due to a rise in financial stocks, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Merck, one of the few health stocks that avoided Wednesday’s carnage, gained 1.8% after multiple broker upgrades.
The drugmaker’s fellow Dow component Disney Co was off 1.3% at US$108.12 after Pivotal cut its rating on the stock to ‘sell’.
Apple was off 0.63% at US$119. Skyworks Solutions, an Apple supplier, lost 2.6% after a Goldman Sachs downgrade.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 1,462 to 1,103. On the Nasdaq, 1,580 issues fell and 649 advanced.
The S&P 500 index showed four new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 16 new highs and four new lows. - Reuters
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