US stocks retreat from records; Nasdaq down 1.14%

US stocks finished decisively lower Monday, retreating from last week’s records in a decline attributed to profit taking and anxiety about Chinese economic growth. AP

NEW YORK–US stocks finished decisively lower Monday, retreating from last week’s records in a decline attributed to profit taking and anxiety about Chinese economic growth.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 107.06 points (0.62 percent) to 17,172.68.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 16.11 (0.80 percent) to 1,994.29, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index sank 52.10 (1.14 percent) to 4,527.69.

Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at S&P Capital IQ, said investors “were in need of some near-term rest” after the Dow and S&P 500 hit new record highs last week amid a stay-put Federal Reserve policy decision, the Scottish vote against independence and Chinese Internet giant Alibaba’s record initial public offering.

“People are taking profits,” said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities.

Analysts also cited a surprising decline in US existing-home sales in August and worries about Chinese manufacturing data due to be released Tuesday.

Homebuilder stocks fell sharply after the National Association of Realtors said existing-home sales fell 1.8 percent in August, following four straight months of gains. Toll Brothers tumbled 3.1 percent and KB Home and Lennar both fell 2.8 percent.

Alibaba, the Chinese online commerce company, fell 4.3 percent in its second day of trade. The company shot up nearly 40 percent in its premiere session Friday.

Yahoo, which holds a 22.4 percent stake in Alibaba, dropped 5.6 percent. Analysts say the ability of money managers to directly invest in Alibaba removes a key selling point for Yahoo.

Other technology companies fell in the Nasdaq sell-off, including Amazon (-2.1 percent), Netflix (-3.2 percent), Priceline (-1.7 percent) and Tesla Motors (-3.6 percent).

US oilfield supplier Dresser-Rand gained 2.6 percent after Germany’s Siemens announced it would buy the company for $7.6 billion.

Another German company, pharmaceuticals maker Merck KGaA, said it would buy US specialty chemicals firm Sigma-Aldrich for $17 billion. Sigma-Aldrich bolted 33.2 percent higher.

Detergent and household-goods manufacturer Clorox jumped 7.4 percent after announcing it was shutting its Venezuelan operation, which became unprofitable due to government price controls on its products. The company also confirmed its 2015 profit outlook.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 2.57 percent from 2.59 percent Friday, while the 30-year declined to 3.29 percent from 3.30 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.