WALL Street stocks started an eventful week on a downcast note on Monday, retreating ahead of key central bank announcements and corporate earnings.

Analysts pointed to profit taking as a factor in the bruising session after equities spent much of January pushing higher.

“People are getting out of long positions in stocks, particularly in the tech sector which has led the recent rally,” said Karl Haeling of LBBW. “People are taking some risk off.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.8 per cent at 33,717.09.

The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 1.3 per cent to 4,017.77, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index sank 2.0 per cent to 11,393.81.

This week’s calendar includes several major central bank announcements, with the Federal Reserve set to unveil its rate decision on Wednesday.

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Analysts expressed unease after Spanish consumer prices unexpectedly accelerated, raising worries about a European Central Bank meeting later in the week.

The economic agenda also includes quarterly results from tech heavyweights such as Apple and Amazon, as well as from industrial companies including ExxonMobil and General Motors.

Earnings have generally topped expectations so far, but investors have been troubled by downbeat forecasts by many companies, said Hugh Johnson of Hugh Johnson Economics.

Later this week, the US Labor Department will also release jobs data for January, another indicator that traders are eyeing as the world’s biggest economy shows signs of cooling. AFP