NEW YORK (AP) - After rising over four days to near pre-recession highs, stocks slipped Monday on Wall Street.
The Dow dropped 40 points, or 0.3 percent, to 13,553.
Last week's surge lifted the S&P 500 to its highest level in nearly five years. Investors piled into stocks after news that the Federal Reserve planned to buy mortgage bonds in an effort to get people to borrow and spend more.
The Standard & Poor's 500 fell nearly 5 points to 1,461. The Nasdaq composite lost 5 to 3,179.
Six of the 10 major industry sectors in the S&P 500 fell, led by materials stocks, down 1.5 percent. Banks and other financial companies were also lower, losing 1.1 percent as a group.
Energy stocks lost 0.8 percent, climbing back from steeper losses in the afternoon following a plunge in oil that left traders guessing as to the cause. Benchmark crude fell to $96.62, a loss of $2.38, or 2.4 percent, the biggest fall since late July.
Asian stock markets were mostly lower in Tuesday trading as signs that Europe will take longer than expected to set up a new authority to supervise European banks kept investors on the sidelines.
First Coast News