By Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks pulled back on Tuesday,
catching their breath after the Dow industrials scored another
record close on Monday.
The market was feeling some pressure from Federal Reserve
officials giving fresh warnings about a potential stimulus
reduction, as well as from a decline in small-business
sentiment.
Joe Bell, senior equity analyst at Schaeffer's Investment
Research, said he views stocks as basically consolidating as
third-quarter earnings season winds down.
"It seems like we're still in the middle of digesting the strong
past month or so that we've had," Bell told MarketWatch.
The S&P 500(SPX) was last down 4 points, or 0.2%, to 1,768,
while the Dow Jones Industrial Average(DJI) fell 31 points, or
0.2%, to 15,753 after making short forays into positive
territory.
The Nasdaq Composite(RIXF) was last down less than 1 point to
3,919.
* Today's market-moving news: Atlanta Fed President Dennis
Lockhart said the central bank could cut back on its bond buys as
soon as December. Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher also warned
about a stimulus reduction, saying "at some point we will have to
taper." Meanwhile, the National Federation of Independent Business
reported small-business optimism dropped in October.
* What strategists are saying: Regarding the moderate selling,
Scott Redler said in an email early Tuesday that "some blame"
Fisher's comments on "how we can't have QE forever." But Redler,
chief strategist at T3 Live and T3 Trading Group, added that it
"could also just be that we need another day or so to digest
Friday's move and last week's volatility." Markets are largely
looking past everything this week until Janet Yellen's nomination
hearing on Thursday, said Craig Erlam, market analyst at Alpari
U.K., in an email. Yellen is expected to take over leadership of
the Federal Reserve.
* Other buzz: Stocks have surged enough and are due for a
correction, according to a growing number of market observers. Yet
others have a different take. Read more about it in this Tell blog
post.
* What's the trend:With Tuesday's slip, stocks are set to snap a
two-day winning streak. The decline follows a mild move up on
Monday, when the Dow achieved a record close, and Friday's big jump
after a stronger-than-expected October jobs report. Last week, the
S&P 500 and Dow both posted their fifth up week in a row. They
have gained about 24% and 20% so far this year, respectively.
* Today's movers & shakers: Dish Network Corp. rose 4% after
the satellite TV provider said it swung to a profit in the third
quarter. But Rackspace Hosting Inc. tumbled 12% after the
cloud-computing company posted third-quarter earnings that missed
expectations late Monday. Read more in the Movers & Shakers
column.
* Other markets:European stocks mostly lost ground, while Asian
equities largely advanced. China's Third Plenum finished with
Communist Party leaders pledging to allow the market to play a
"decisive" role in allocating resources. Gold and crude oil fell,
as the dollar rose.
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