Wall Street Takes Profits After Run
Tuesday May 8, 9:43 am ET
By Joe Bel Bruno, AP Business Writer
Stocks Open Lower Following Moderate Pullback Overseas, Ahead of Fed Meeting
NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street pulled back in early trading Tuesday as investors, mindful of the Federal Reserve's upcoming meeting on interest rates, decided to cash in some profits from the market's extended rally.
The consolidation, which follows a similar move in overseas markets, comes a day ahead of the Fed meeting. Though central bankers are expected to leave rates unchanged, Wall Street could get further direction about whether a hoped-for rate cut is in the offing.
The market was also awaiting the Commerce Department's report Tuesday on March wholesale inventories. Expectations are for a 0.3 percent rise, less than February's 0.5 percent.
Economic data is expected to wield more influence on the direction of stocks as the pace of earnings announcements slows. But investors will be watching after the bell for reports from Walt Disney Co., one of the 30 companies that make up the Dow, and Cisco Systems Inc.
In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 47.78, or 0.36 percent, to 13,265.19. The blue chip average had been up 24 of the last 27 sessions, and surpassed the 13,300 mark for the first time on Monday.
Broader stock indicators were also declined. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 5.57, or 0.37 percent, at 1,503.91, and the Nasdaq composite index shed 10.94, or 0.43 percent, to 2,560.01.
