US stocks fell on Tuesday as investors booked profits from the prior session's rally, while falling oil prices weighed on shares of energy companies. Technology companies and big manufacturers, such as Caterpillar Inc, which had climbed a day earlier to help propel the Dow to its 33rd record-high finish for 2007 on Monday retreated.
Oil dropped below $80 a barrel as the dollar strengthened and made commodities priced in dollars cheaper. Exxon Mobil was the biggest drag on both the Dow and the S&P 500 stock gauges, falling 2.6 percent.
"We had this massive move up in the market yesterday, so it's only natural that there be some profit-taking," said Stephen Massocca, co-chief executive of San Francisco-based investment bank Pacific Growth Equities.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 61.21 points, or 0.43 percent, at 14,026.34. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 5.11 points, or 0.33 percent, at 1,541.93. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 3.46 points, or 0.13 percent, at 2,737.53.
Comments
Comments are closed.