Wall Street Slips, But Still Well Ahead For August

Wall Street finished marginally lower on Tuesday, although the slightly subdued ending to August failed to detract from a strong monthly performance by its three main indexes, in what is traditionally regarded as a quiet period for equities.

Having all posted lifetime highs in the second half of the month, including four record closings in five sessions for the S&P 500 prior to Tuesday, the three benchmarks were weighed by technology stocks on the final day.

For the S&P, which rose 2.9 percent in August, it was a seventh straight month of gains, while the Dow and the Nasdaq advanced 1.2 percent and 4 percent, respectively, since the end of July.

The performance reflects the level of investor confidence in US equities derived from the Federal Reserve's continued dovish tone toward tapering its massive stimulus program.

"After all the monetary and fiscal interventions, the question is where do we go from here? Does the S&P go to 5,000, and how does it get there?" said Eric Metz, chief executive officer of SpringRock Advisors.

While a strong recovery in economic growth and corporate earnings have boosted US stocks, investors are concerned about rising coronavirus cases and the path of Fed policy.

US consumer confidence fell to a six-month low in August, according to survey data from the Conference Board on Tuesday, offering a cautious note for the economic outlook.

A Reuters poll last week showed strategists believe the S&P 500 is likely to end 2021 not far from its current level.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.11 percent, to 35,361, the S&P 500 lost 0.13 percent, to 4,523 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.04 percent, to 15,259.

Shares of Apple fell 0.8 percent after hitting a lifetime high in the previous session, while Zoom Video Communications tumbled 16.7 percent as it signaled a faster-than-expected easing in demand for its video-conferencing service after a pandemic-driven boom. (Reuters)