Stocks Move Modestly Lower Amid Light Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Trading activity was somewhat subdued, but stocks moved moderately during trading on Monday. The pullback on the day came on the heels of the strength seen in recent weeks.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq made an effort to turn positive late in the session but still ended down 2.53 points or 0.1 percent at 5,097.63. The Dow slid 77.79 points or 0.4 percent, and the S&P 500 fell 6.55 points or 0.3 percent to 2,168.48.

The weakness on Wall Street was partly due to profit taking, with traders cashing in on the strength seen over the past few weeks.

The gains seen last Friday lifted the S&P 500 to a new record closing high, while the Nasdaq reached its best closing level of 2016.

However, trading activity remained light, as traders seem reluctant to make more significant moves amid a lack of major U.S. economic data.

Traders may also be looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's two-day monetary policy meeting scheduled to begin on Tuesday.

The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged as officials wait to see the fallout from Britain's vote to leave the European Union.

The central bank's accompanying statement is still likely to be in focus, as investors attempt to gauge the outlook for the next rate hike.

While most of the major sectors showed only modest moves, considerable weakness was visible among gold stocks. Reflecting the weakness in the sector, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index fell by 3.9 percent.

The weakness in the gold sector came amid a decrease by the price of the precious metal, with gold for August delivery sliding $3.90 to $1,320 an ounce.

Energy stocks also came under pressure, as the price of crude oil for September delivery tumbled $1.06 to $43.12 a barrel.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a lackluster performance during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index edged down by less than a tenth of a percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Index inched up by 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets finished the day mixed. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index crept up by 0.2 percent and the German DAX Index rose by 0.5 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries ended the day nearly flat after a lackluster session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, inched up by less a basis point to 1.571 percent.