Wall Street Opens Lower, Pausing Rally

NEW YORK, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Feb, 2017 ) - Wall Street opened lower Friday, taking a break from the steady rally of the past three weeks, amid a generally cautious move in global markets.

Twenty minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gave up 0.2 percent to 20,762.46, after closing Thursday at an all-time high for the 10th consecutive session, breaking a 30-year record.

The broader S&P 500 lost 0.35 percent to 2,355.44, while the tech-rich Nasdaq was down 0.38 to 5,813.40. Analysts were not surprised by the pullback, which was fueled by optimism that President Donald Trump would soon present a major tax cut package, even though no details have been announced.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said it is expected to be approved by August. "The point resonating in most market narratives is that the stock market has gone too far, too fast, and has run headlong into a wall of valuation concerns," Briefing.

com analyst Patrick O'Hare said in a commentary.

But he added that there is anticipation of buyers coming back into the market if a pullback comes to pass. Among the few negative factors on Friday, observers cited a decline in oil prices, persistent political uncertainties in Europe, and Trump's repeat of his threat about declaring China a Currency manipulator, just hours after Mnuchin said the administration was in no hurry to do so.

Hewlett Packard lost 8.5 percent after reporting a 10 percent drop in revenues in the first quarter, to $11.4 billion, well below expectations. The company also downgraded its second a quarter guidance and lowered the profit outlook for the year.

Retailer JC Penney saw its share price fall 6.3 percent after announcing a bigger-than-expected drop in same-store sales in the fourth quarter, and 2017 earnings estimate below forecasts.