NEW YORK: Stocks fell in Monday trading, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index having the longest retreat in a month, as financial shares slumped and investors tracked speeches from Federal Reserve officials for clues on monetary policies.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. declined more than 2.7 percent as Atlantic Equities LLP forecast a drop in fixed-income trading revenue for the biggest U.S. banks. Homebuilders slipped 1.6 percent as a group anticipating earnings reports today from Lennar Corp. and KB Home. Apple Inc. surged 5 percent after saying first-weekend sales of its new iPhones topped 9 million units.
The S&P 500 retreated 0.5 percent to 1,701.84. The benchmark gauge has lost 1.4 percent over three days, giving back all its gains from the Fed’s unexpected move last week to maintain stimulus levels. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 49.71 points, or 0.3 percent, to 15,401.38.
“At some point, investors are going to say, ‘What’s underpinning this strong rally? We need some solid numbers,’ ” said Scott Armiger, chief investment officer at Christiana Trust in Wilmington, Del.
The S&P 500 rose 1.3 percent last week, touching a record high.
Three regional bank presidents spoke Monday. Fed Bank of New York President William C. Dudley said policy makers must “forcefully” push against economic headwinds as the U.S. has yet to show “any meaningful pickup.” Fed Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart said monetary policy should focus on creating a more dynamic economy. Fed Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher said the central bank harmed its credibility with the decision last week.