NEW YORK — After eight straight weeks of gains, the stock market pullback long anticipated by investors may have arrived.
Stocks fell Tuesday, dragged lower by the Detroit automakers and consumer-focused companies such as GameStop and Amazon.com. The market could be headed for its first weekly decline since early October, putting at risk a remarkable rally that has sent indexes to record highs.
The declines do not come as a surprise to large investors, many of whom have predicted a pullback. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index has surged 26 percent in 2013, on track for its best year in a decade.
If stocks paused, declined or even entered a “correction,” a Wall Street term for when an index falls 10 percent or more, it would be normal after eight straight weeks of gains.
“The markets may have stalled out here, but that must be taken in the context of what has been a great year,” said Alec Young, global equity strategist with S&P Capital IQ.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 94.15 points, or 0.6 percent, to 15,914.62. The S&P 500 index fell 5.75 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,795.15 and the Nasdaq composite fell 8.06 points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,037.20.
Companies that depend heavily on consumer spending had some of the biggest losses. GameStop, the video game retailer, sank $1.02, or 2 percent, to $45.95, one of the worst declines in the S&P 500 index. Amazon.com fell $7.64, or 2 percent, to $384.66.
Automakers fell. General Motors lost 97 cents, or 3 percent, to $38.14. Ford fell 50 cents, or 3 percent, to $16.56, despite what auto industry analysts considered mostly positive sales reports for November.
The selloff in auto stocks was a surprise to industry analysts. Chrysler sales rose 16 percent in November compared with a year earlier, while GM and Ford’s sales increased 14 percent and 7 percent, respectively. Overall, the industry reported a 9 percent year-over-year sales gain.
Investors are waiting for several economic reports later this week that could influence whether the Federal Reserve will pare back its $85 billion-a-month bond-buying program. The program is designed to keep interest rates low and stimulate the economy.
And on Friday, the government will release its monthly job market survey, one of the most closely watched indicators of the U.S. economy.
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