NEW YORK: Wall Street’s main indexes fell on Tuesday with the S&P 500 and the Dow retreating from record closing highs hit a day earlier, following disappointing retail sales data and a spike in Covid-19 cases across the country.

The Nasdaq’s losses were limited by a 7.6% jump in Tesla Inc’s shares on news the electric-car maker would join the benchmark S&P 500 in December.

The Dow finished about 50 points shy of 30,000 on Monday, after Moderna Inc’s promising Covid-19 vaccine data boosted hopes of an economic recovery.

Latest data showed US retail sales increased less than expected in October and could slow further due to spiraling new infections and as additional fiscal support remained elusive.

US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday he hoped lawmakers could reach a deal on overall government funding by the week’s end and that the next few days could be decisive.

At 11:38 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 178.02 points, or 0.60%, to 29,772.42, the S&P 500 lost 13.38 points, or 0.37%, to 3,613.53 and the Nasdaq composite lost 29.45 points, or 0.25%, to 11,894.68.—Reuters