U.S. Equities Retreat as Bank Shares Slide

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks, which closed at a record Friday, fell for a second day as investors awaited this week’s testimony from former FBI Director James Comey and financial stocks declined amid a rally in bonds.

The S&P 500 dropped 0.1 percent at 9:50 a.m. in New York. The benchmark dropped 0.1 percent Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.2 percent to 21,152.

• Bank shares underperform, down 0.8%, poised for biggest loss in a week
  • All but 4 stocks in S&P Financials lower in early trading
  • Charles Schwab, Navient down at least 1.6%
• Consumer discretionary stocks down 0.3%
• VIX up for a second day, after earlier reaching a two-decade low
• Volume in S&P 500 15% below 30-day average
• 10-year Treasury yield down 4bps to 2.14%
• POLITICS:
  • In focus this week is Comey’s testimony on Thursday, which investors will assess for clues on how the probe into President Donald Trump’s alleged campaign links with Russian officials will affect his administration’s ability to execute its policy agenda
• Focus is also on Britain’s June 8 election, where the ruling Conservative lead in the polls has narrowed
  • While Prime Minister Theresa May is leading a campaign that’s less business-friendly than past Tory candidates’, Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn has pulled his party leftward, with promises to nationalize railways and raise wages and taxes
• ECONOMY:
• EARNINGS:
  • Pre-market Wednesday: Brown-Forman (BF/B)

For more equity market news:

• Buyers Scooping 50-Cent VIX Calls Again After Stock Tumult Ebbs
• An Equity Guide to Labour Shock: Corbyn’s Winners and Losers
• An Equity Guide to Tory Landslide: May’s Winners and Losers

To contact the reporter on this story: Oliver Renick in New York at orenick2@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chris Nagi at chrisnagi@bloomberg.net, Scott Schnipper