U.S. stock indexes drifted slightly lower in morning trading Monday as the market stepped back from its recent record highs. Real estate investment trusts fell the most as bond yields rose following a steep drop at the end of last week. Banks and technology stocks bucked the broader market dip. Oil prices headed lower.
KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 2 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,436 as of 11:25 a.m. Eastern Time. The Dow Jones industrial average slid 8 points to 21,197. The Nasdaq composite index lost 8 points, or 0.1 percent, to 6,297.
BANK BOOST: Rising bond yields, which allow banks to charge higher rates on loans, sent bank stocks higher. Zions Bancorporation added 80 cents, or 2 percent, to $40.90. Morgan Stanley gained 67 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $43.19.
SEARCH THIS: Shares in Google’s parent Alphabet traded over $1,000 per share for the first time. The stock added $7.88, or 1 percent, at $1,003.98.
TAKEOVER BID: Forestar Group surged 12.5 percent after homebuilder D.R. Horton offered to buy a 75 percent stake in the real estate and natural resources developer for $16.25 a share. Forestar rose $1.78 to $15.98. D.R. Horton shed 34 cents, or 1 percent, to $33.45.
PROMISING TREATMENT: Loxo Oncology vaulted 44 percent after the drug developer received encouraging results from an experimental drug that targets a rare genetic tumor abnormality. Loxo shares jumped $21.91 to $70.89.
UNHEALTHY OUTLOOK: Herbalife slid 5.9 percent after the seller of supplements and weight-loss products lowered its second-quarter revenue and volume projections. The company noted that a switch to new sales tactics is affecting its business in the U.S., and sales in Mexico were weak. The stock fell $4.34 to $69.58.
DOWNGRADED: Perrigo fell 4.8 percent after an equities analyst at RBC downgraded the specialty pharmaceuticals company to “underperform” from “sector perform,” citing concerns with the company’s U.S. consumer business. The stock lost $3.51 to $69.93.
MARKETS OVERSEAS: Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.3 percent as investors focused on the fallout from Saturday’s attack in London, which killed seven people. The attack comes ahead of Thursday’s general election. France’s CAC 40 fell 0.6 percent and the German stock exchange was closed for a holiday.
Qatar’s main stock index tumbled 7.3 percent after Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates announced they would withdraw their diplomatic staff from Qatar over its support for Islamist groups and its relations with Iran. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 ended flat, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.2 percent.
ENERGY: Oil prices slumped as several nations cut diplomatic ties with the nation of Qatar. Benchmark U.S. crude was down 65 cents, or 1.4 percent, at $47.01 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, was down 76 cents, or 1.5 percent, at $49.19 a barrel in London.
CURRENCIES: The euro fell to $1.1252 from $1.1276 on Friday. The dollar weakened to 110.46 yen from 110.50 yen.
TREASURY YIELDS: Bond prices fell. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 2.18 percent from 2.19 percent late Friday, when it sank to its lowest level of the year.