Rally Ends: US stocks retreat, banking leads decline

NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks finished lower following profit taking in banking shares and some other equities that had scored big gains in the post-election rally. Bank of America lost 2.2% and Goldman Sachs shed 1.7% in reversals of the large gains seen since the November 8 election prompted a big rally in the sector. Analysts also cited a disappointing home construction report, which showed a steeper decline than expected in new residential building in November. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped less than 0.1% at 19,843.41. The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.2% to 2,258.07, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.4% to 5,437.16. Software company Oracle slumped 4.4% after reporting a 7.5% decline in second-quarter earnings to $2.0 billion. Some analysts expressed disappointment with the company’s outlook.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 18^th, 2016.

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