Wall Street ends lower

1 min read

Wall Street’s main indexes closed lower on Monday as investors took some profits after last weeks’ records while they waited for earnings season to begin and eyed events in Washington with trepidation.

U.S. stocks had rallied last week as investors bet that Democrats’ win of Georgia runoff elections would bring a higher likelihood of a heftier fiscal stimulus package to boost the pandemic-savaged economy.

But some investors worried stimulus could be delayed as House Democrats introduced a resolution to impeach U.S. President Donald Trump, accusing him of inciting insurrection following a violent attack on the Capitol by his supporters.

McMillan said investors also worried about more attacks. The FBI has warned of possible armed protests being planned for Washington, D.C., and at all 50 U.S. state capital cities in the run-up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20, a federal law enforcement source said on Monday.

But U.S. Treasury yields rose as safe haven bonds sold off on Monday and economically-sensitive sectors such as energy and financials outperformed while defensive bond proxy sectors like utilities and real estate sold off.