Stocks retreated Monday, pushing the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite off all-time highs, despite a rallying group of technology stocks tied to the artificial intelligence boom.
The S&P 500 shed 0.12% to 5,130.95, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.41% to 16,207.51. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 97.55 points, or 0.25%, to finish at 38,989.83.
With those drops, the broad S&P 500 and technology-heavy Nasdaq returned to charted waters after notching new records last week.
Losses were mitigated by gains of more than 3% in AI darling Nvidia. Super Micro Computer soared 18% after S&P Dow Jones Indices announced it would join the S&P 500 later this month.
A handful of bitcoin-focused stocks including Microstrategy and Coinbase also posted sizable advances as the cryptocurrency neared its 2021 all-time high. That offered further evidence of Wall Street taking on risk in Monday's session.
But other technology laggards ultimately held the market back, with the S&P 500 communication services sector leading the index lower. Apple fell 2.5% after getting hit with a European Union antitrust fine of nearly $2 billion. Tesla dropped more than 7% after announcing new price discounts and incentives late last week.
Outside of technology, Ford added more than 2% on the back of strong sales data. Macy's soared more than 13% after Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management increased their offer for the department store.
JetBlue rose more than 4%, while Spirit Airlines tumbled more than 10%. The airlines said Monday that they would end plans to combine, weeks after losing a federal antitrust lawsuit that jeopardized the $3.8-billion deal.
Monday's losses come as the market has largely raced higher over the past several weeks, fueled by AI-focused excitement. The technology-heavy Nasdaq registered an all-time high on Friday, breaking a 2021 record to become the last of the major stock indexes to reach a record close this year.
"Investors are wondering: Should we be taking some profits at this point, or just staying the course?" said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist of CFRA Research. With a slightly down market, "I would tend to say that investors are just sort of sitting on their hands and not really doing anything."
This week, traders will look for clues about the future direction of interest rates from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The central bank leader is expected to deliver monetary policy updates to the House of Representatives on Wednesday and to the Senate on Thursday.
The ADP Employment Survey and January job openings data will be released on Wednesday, providing further insight into the labor market. Manufacturing and nonfarm payrolls data for February are due Friday.