NEW YORK — Losses for health care companies and banks left U.S. stocks lower Monday after a quiet day of trading. Industrial conglomerate General Electric skidded after announcing more changes in its leadership.
Companies that distribute or sell prescription drugs continued to slide on speculation that Amazon plans to get into that business, something the company has not confirmed.
Banks dipped after a big rally over the last month and technology companies continued to climb. Smaller, more domestically-focused companies declined as investors tried to gauge the odds for tax cuts.
Stocks have rallied over the last two weeks as investors hope tax cuts proposed by the Trump administration and congressional Republicans will boost corporate profits. But over the weekend President Trump entered a war of words with Sen. Bob Corker, a Republican who has a reputation as a budget hawk. Republicans have a narrow majority and losing just a few votes could derail a bill.
“There really is not much leeway there,” said Mona Mahajan, U.S. investment strategist for Allianz Global Investors. “They somehow have to get their act together.”
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dipped 4.60 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,544.73. The Dow Jones industrial average shed 12.60 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 22,761.07. The Nasdaq composite fell 10.45 points, or 0.2 percent, to 6,579.73, which ended a nine-day winning streak. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks lost 6.66 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,503.56.
General Electric slipped after it named Ed Garden of Trian Fund Management to its board of directors. Trian, a well-known activist investment firm founded by Nelson Peltz, has been pushing the conglomerate to slim down. GE lost 96 cents, or 3.9 percent, to $23.43. It’s down 26 percent this year.
GE has announced slew of changes in its leadership this month. John Flannery replaced Jeffrey Immelt as CEO a week ago, several months ahead of the schedule the company announced in June. On Friday, GE said Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey Bornstein will leave at the end of the month. Two vice chairs are also retiring.
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