(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click/ or type LIVE/ in a news window.)
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Moderna ( MRNA ) slides after cutting 2025 sales forecast
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Chip stocks fall as US tightens grip on AI chip flows
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Health insurers rise after US proposes 2026 payment rates
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Nasdaq hits more than one-month low
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Indexes: Dow up 0.22%, S&P 500 slips 0.63%, Nasdaq off
1.33%
(Updates with mid-session trading)
By Johann M Cherian and Sukriti Gupta
Jan 13 (Reuters) -
U.S. stocks declined on Monday, with the S&P 500 hitting a
two-month low as bond yields surged following strong payroll
data last week, reinforcing bets that the Federal Reserve will
maintain a hawkish stance through most of the year.
At 11:39 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
rose 93.86 points, or 0.22%, to 42,032.31, the S&P 500
lost 36.53 points, or 0.63%, to 5,790.51, and the Nasdaq
Composite lost 254.71 points, or 1.33%, to 18,906.92.
Wall Street's fear gauge rose 1 point, touching a
more than three-week high.
The domestically sensitive Russell 2000 index
declined 0.9% to its lowest level since September 2024,
extending Friday's decline, which saw it enter correction
territory after falling more than 10% from its November intraday
record high.
Pressuring stocks, yields on longer-dated Treasury bonds
are pinned at multi-month highs.
At one point, traders were no longer fully pricing in
even one Fed rate cut this year, according to
data compiled by LSEG
, from about 43 basis points before Friday's job figures.
Bets currently reflect expectations of a 25.6 bps easing by the
Fed's December meeting.
"In the early stages of recalibrating monetary policy,
investors tend to take a bit of a risk-off attitude," said Art
Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth.
"But the important part of what has changed thus far
this year is that economic data being positive at the end of the
day will likely be a net positive for corporate earnings and for
markets."
Five of the 11 S&P 500 sectors declined, led by a 2%
drop in Utilities. Megacaps were down, with Tesla
sliding 1.5%, Apple ( AAPL ) dropping 2.4% and Alphabet
losing 1.6%, sending the Nasdaq to a more than
one-month low.
On the flip side, Energy rose 2.2%, tracking
higher crude prices. The S&P 500 equal-weighted index
was up 0.1%.
The main indexes logged their second consecutive week of
declines in the previous session after multiple reports pointed
to better-than-expected economic activity, raising worries that
inflation could be running high.
Investors also priced in the likelihood that the incoming
Donald Trump administration's policies - such as tariffs and a
clampdown on illegal immigration - could threaten global trade
and fuel price pressures when the Fed has also signaled a cloudy
monetary policy outlook. Trump is expected to take office on
Jan. 20.
The Consumer Price Index numbers and the central bank's
Beige Book on economic activity, both due on Wednesday, will
likely help investors gauge the Fed's policy outlook.
Some chip stocks fell, with Nvidia ( NVDA ) dropping 2.9%
and Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) slipping 0.5% after the U.S.
government said it would further restrict
artificial-intelligence chip and technology exports.
Moderna ( MRNA ) slid 21.8% to the bottom of the S&P 500
after slashing its 2025 sales forecast by $1 billion.
Dow component UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) added 4.3%, CVS
Health ( CVS ) rose 5.6% and Humana climbed 7.4% after
the Biden administration
proposed 2026 reimbursement rates
for Medicare Advantage plans run by private insurers, which
would result in a 2.2% increase in payments.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.74-to-1
ratio on the NYSE, and by a 2.22-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted two new 52-week highs and 23 new
lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 19 new highs and 209
new lows.