US stocks retreat, extending volatile run

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Wall Street ended lower on Tuesday, pulled down by Apple and Tesla, while materials stocks climbed as investors waited for the US Congress to approve another stimulus package.

NEW YORK (AFP) - Wall Street stocks fell on Tuesday (March 2), giving back a portion of the gains from the prior session's rally as investors girded for more volatility.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note continued to decline on Tuesday, but investors are grappling with the chance that inflation could rise if President Joe Biden's US$1.9 trillion (S$2.5 trillion) stimulus plan is passed.

"The Fed still wants to continue this easy money policy," said JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade, who said many investors fear inflation or view the economy as well on its way to recovery.

"The policy makers and the market are having a little bit of a tug of war," Kinahan said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5 per cent to 31,391.52.

The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 0.8 per cent to 3,870.29, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 1.7 per cent to 13,358.95.

Among individual companies, Target slumped 6.8 per cent despite reporting a 66 per cent jump in fourth-quarter income to US$1.4 billion on another round of surging sales amid the coronavirus pandemic.

However, investors were caught off guard by the big-box chain's announcement to spend US$4 billion on more store and e-commerce upgrades.

Rocket Companies, a personal finance firm, surged more than 70 per cent, in the latest rally prompted by investors on social media company Reddit's WallStreetBets.

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