US: S&P 500, Nasdaq retreat from records as markets await Federal Reserve

[NEW YORK] The Dow gained, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq pulled back from records on Monday ahead of a much-anticipated Federal Reserve meeting, a highlight in a news-jammed week that also includes trade talks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.1 per cent to close the session at 27,221.35.

The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.2 per cent to finish at 3,020.96, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slid 0.4 per cent to 8,293.33.

US stocks have been in rally mode since early June when Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell adopted a more dovish tone on monetary policy.

The Fed is expected to cut interest rates on Wednesday for the first time in a decade, but the question of whether the US central bank will have to deliver more stimulus this year remains the subject of intense debate.

"Basically it's the Fed, whether they will cut, by how much and what they say regarding future rate cuts," said Sam Stovall of CFRA Research.

Besides the Federal Reserve, other significant events this week include a trove of corporate earnings reports from Apple, Exxon Mobil and others; the resumption of trade talks between the US and China; and the July US jobs report.

Among individual companies, generic drug company Mylan shot up 12.6 per cent after it announced plans to combine with Pfizer's non-patent drug division. Dow-member Pfizer, which lowered some of its full-year financial targets, fell 3.8 per cent.

Large technology companies mostly fell, with Amazon shedding 1.6 per cent, Facebook 1.9 per cent and Netflix 0.9 per cent.

AFP