NEW YORK CITY — US stocks Monday moved lower as investors adjusted to a lighter economic calendar following the busy pace of recent weeks that sent markets at record highs.
About 40 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 46.60 (0.30 percent) to 15,611.76.
The broad-based S&P 500 dipped 2.93 (0.17 percent) to 1,706.74, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gave up 2.81 (0.08 percent) at 3,686.78.
Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare described Monday’s atmosphere as a “lull after the information storm,” which included last week’s heavy corporate earnings calender and the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting, culminating in Friday’s mixed monthly jobs report.
Both the Dow and S&P 500 closed out last week at record highs.
Apple rose 0.9 percent after the Obama administration overturned an International Trade Commission ban on some Apple products, stepping into a long-running patent dispute between Samsung and Apple.
Meat processor and marketer Tyson Foods rose 3.7percent after earnings bested expectations by 9 cents at 69 cents a share. The company also signalled that 2013 revenues would be above market expectations.
Industrial and construction tool supplier Fastenal dropped 2.2 percent after monthly sales showed an increase of 2.9 percent in July compared with last year, below the 5 percent expected, according to a Credit Suisse note.
Berkshire Hathaway rose 0.6 percent after earnings bested last year’s level by 47 percent.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.63 percent from 2.60 percent last Friday, while the 30-year increased to 3.71 percent from 3.69 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.