By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks traded close to their
five-year highs Monday after a trade group said pending home sales
dropped last month, equipment-maker Caterpillar Inc. posted
profitable results and orders rose for durable goods in
December.
The market's recent win streak left equities primed for a
retreat. "We've been up eight days in a row; this can't go on
forever," Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist at BTIG LLC, said
of the S&P 500 Index's eight-session winning run.
Stocks relinquished what had been tepid gains after the National
Association of Realtors said pending home sales declined 4.3% last
month.
"There are a number of indicators that lead us to believe a
market pause is more likely than not, but making the case for a
sustained downside is difficult to do," Greenhaus added.
After finishing above 1,500 last week for the first time since
December 2007, the S&P 500 (SPX) was off nearly 1 point to
1,502. The material sector led losses and technology was the best
performing of its 10 major sectors.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) shed 5.54 points at
13,890.44, with Caterpillar (CAT) leading gains that included half
of its 30 components.
The Commerce Department reported that U.S. orders for durable
goods climbed 4.6% last month.
While the jump in durable-goods orders for December is a welcome
one, the picture painted by Caterpillar is "telling you a little
bit more about the global story," according to Greenhaus.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) advanced 11.02 points, or
0.4%, to 3,160.71.
For every three shares rising, four slipped on the New York
Stock Exchange, where 248 million shares traded as of 12:15 p.m.
Eastern time. Composite volume neared 1.5 billion.
Shares of Jos. A Bank Clothiers Inc. (JOSB) fell nearly 18%
after the men's apparel maker late Friday projected yearly profit
would decline 20% from last year, with sales cut by unseasonably
warm weather.
AK Steel Holding Corp. (AKS) and Century Aluminum Co. (CENX)
retreated after Goldman Sachs downgraded shares of both companies
to sell from neutral.
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