Analysts Warn of 'Correction' as Stocks Edge Lower

But S&P 500 is still up 7% for the month
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 31, 2020 4:15 PM CDT
Analysts Warn of 'Correction' as Stocks Edge Lower
A stock trader puts on his mask before entering the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Aug. 31, 2020, in New York.   (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Stocks ended mostly lower on Wall Street Monday as the market gave back some of its recent gains following a five-week winning streak. The S&P 500 lost 0.2% as declines in banks and industrial stocks offset more gains for technology companies. It still managed to end August up 7%, its fifth monthly gain in a row and its biggest since April. It was the first day of trading after stock splits for Apple and Tesla, and also the first day for a revamped Dow Jones Industrial Average, the AP reports. Saleforce.com, Honeywell, and Amgen have joined the blue chip club. The S&P 500 fell 7.70 points, to 3,500.31. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 223.82 points, or 0.8%, to 28,430.05. The Nasdaq rose 79.82 points, or 0.7%, to 11,775.46. Apple was up 4.2%, while Tesla vaulted 11%.

Nearly three-fourths of the companies in the S&P 500 headed lower Monday, but the index still had its best August since the mid-1980s. "People need to be careful here because what we have is an exuberant rally sitting on the foundation of a shaky recovery," said David Kelly, chief global strategist at JPMorgan Funds. He added that there will likely be a market correction "that brings us back down to Earth." Another factor that may weigh on the market is history. Since 1950, September has been, on average, the weakest month of the year for stocks. And the last two times that the S&P 500 ended August ended with a gain of more than 5% it went on to lose all of those gains in September.

(More stock market stories.)

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