US: Dow ends at 4th straight record; Nasdaq dips

[NEW YORK] The Dow pushed to its fourth straight closing record Monday, while the Nasdaq retreated following sharp declines in Amazon, Tesla Motors and other high-flyers.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3 per cent to end the session at 21,891.12.

The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.1 per cent to 2,470.30, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.4 per cent to 6,348.12.

The Dow was led by Chevron, which reported strong earnings Friday, and Home Depot, which benefited from a wave of buying in shares of leading big-box retailers. Both climbed about one per cent.

Analysts said Monday's blue-chip record marked a continuation of last week's enthusiasm fueled by strong corporate earnings.

"The drivers are the same," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities. "It's not surprising that stocks are doing better with the earnings doing better." Apple and Pfizer are among the companies reporting results this week.

Tech shares with larger drops included Amazon, down 3.2 per cent, Alphabet, down 1.2 per cent, Facebook, down 1.9 per cent, and Tesla Motors, down 3.5 per cent.

Scripps Network Interactive rose 0.6 per cent on news it agreed to be acquired by Discovery Communications for US$14.6 billion. Discovery plunged 8.2 per cent.

The deal combines two leading television programmers at a time when mobile viewing is upending the conventional broadcast business.

Charter Communications jumped 5.9 per cent after it said it had no interest in acquiring Sprint, undermining reports of a possible deal. Sprint fell 2.9 per cent.

AFP