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The stock market ended its best winning streak in over two years on Tuesday, retreating from record highs as corporate earnings season ended and investors paused before an upcoming inflation report.
Shares fell from record highs after weeks of solid price gains.
Important facts
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.31% to over 100 points, while the S&P 500 was down 0.35% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down 0.6%.
Prior to Tuesday’s declines, the S&P 500 had posted eight consecutive days of gains – its best streak in over two years – closing above 4,700 for the first time.
While strong corporate earnings have helped propel stocks to new highs and fueled optimism about the economy reopening, that effect has weakened somewhat as few companies have yet to post results.
Investors took some gains after the recent surge in the stock market and are now looking to critical inflation data to be released on Wednesday, with the October consumer price index expected to rise 0.6% from the previous month.
Tesla shares fell 12% on Tuesday – with shares falling further since CEO Elon Musk raised concerns over the weekend that he would sell 10% of his stake in the electric vehicle maker.
Shares in digital payments company PayPal fell more than 10% after weak gains, while industrial giant GE rose 2.6% after announcing it would split into three publicly traded companies focusing on aerospace, healthcare and energy.