Dow industrials end lower for first session in seven

Published Mon, Jun 23 2014 4:49 PM EDTUpdated Mon, Jun 23 2014 4:49 PM EDT

Kate Gibson

U.S. stocks ended little changed on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average halting its longest win streak this year.

"The market is a little overbought, but it's had a pretty good run here. The market got a big support last week from Janet Yellen," said Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at RW Baird, referring to comments by the Federal Reserve chair, who downplayed concerns about asset-price bubbles and inflation.

"I suspect the markets aren't going to get into any significant trouble unless the Fed has to rethink policy," Bittles added.

Micros Systems gained after Oracle offered to buy the maker of software for restaurants and hotels for $5.3 billion in cash. Integrys Energy Group jumped after Wisconsin Energy said it would pay $5.7 billion . Lululemon Athletica climbed as the founder of the yoga clothing retailer explored options including a proxy fight or joining a private equity firm in a buyout.

The National Association of Realtors reported the 4.9 percent in May to an annualized rate of 4.9 million, versus a 1.5 percent gain the month before.

"The housing numbers this morning were very good, you may have had a bit of buy the rumor, sell the news. The rally last week might have been in anticipation of this good economic data" that the market is expecting this week, said Phil Orlando, equity market strategist at Federated Investors.

"We're still sitting up here at 1,960 or so," Orlando added of the S&P 500, which finished at 1,962.87, its highest close, on Friday.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to Baghdad on Monday, where he pushed the Iraqi prime minister to form a more inclusive government as it attempts to stem a Sunni insurgency across much of the northern and western parts of the country.

Major U.S. Indexes

TICKER	COMPANY	NAME	PRICE	CHANGE	%CHANGE
.DJI	Dow Jones Industrial Average	DJIA	39,908.00	+349.89	+0.88%
.IXIC	NASDAQ Composite	NASDAQ	16,742.39	+231.21	+1.40%
.SPX	S&P 500 Index	S&P 500	5,308.15	+61.47	+1.17%

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 9.82 points, or nearly 0.1 percent, to 16,937.26, with Pfizer and General Electric pacing blue-chip losses, which included 15 of 30 components. GE declined after sealing a $17 billion deal for Alstom's energy assets.

The lost a quarter of a point to end at 1,962.61, little changed from its record close on Friday. Industrials paced sector declines and energy fared the best among the S&P's 10 major industry groups.

The Nasdaq ended about half a point higher, at 4,368.68.

Still trading near seven-year lows, the CBOE Volatility Index, one measure of investor uncertainty, rose 1.2 percent to 10.98.

Advancers and decliners ran nearly even on the New York Stock Exchange, where 572 million shares traded. Composite volume surpassed 2.7 billion.

The dollar edged lower against the currencies of major U.S. trading partners; the 10-year Treasury yield used in figuring mortgage rates and other consumer loans added 2 basis points to 2.625 percent.

Gold futures for August delivery wavered before ending up $1.80, or 0.1 percent, at $1,318.40 an ounce; crude futures for August delivery lost 66 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $106.17 a barrel.

A Lundberg survey released on Sunday in the United States rising 1.87 cents over the past two weeks as refiners and retailers took the brunt of the recent rise in the price of crude oil.

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Stock futures were mixed ahead of the open after weak readings on business activity in Europe countered upbeat manufacturing data in China.

The HSBC/Markit Flash China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 50.8 in June from May's 49.4, while the Markit's Composite Purchasing Managers' Index for the euro zone dropped to 52.8 from May's 53.5.

Markit's flash PMI reading for the United States for June rose to 57.5 in June from 56.4, with the latest read beating expectations for 56.5.

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On Friday, the Dow finished at a record after extending gains into a sixth session, marking its longest winning run this year.

—By CNBC's Kate Gibson

Coming Up This Week:

Tuesday

Earnings: Walgreen, Apogee Enterprises

9 a.m.: Case-Shiller home prices

9 a.m.: FHFA home prices

10 a.m.: Consumer confidence index

10 a.m.: New home sales

10 a.m. Richmond Fed survey