(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or
type LIVE/ in a news window)
* Fed policy meeting to start on Tuesday
* Mylan to combine with Pfizer's generic unit
* Dow up 0.22%, S&P 500 off 0.22%, Nasdaq down 0.74%
(Updates prices, comments)
By Shreyashi Sanyal
July 29 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks retreated from record highs
on Monday, weighed by technology shares ahead of high profile
earnings including that of Apple, which will test the impact of
trade tensions on global growth, ahead of the Federal Reserve's
policy-setting meeting.
The S&P 500 technology sector .SPLRCT , the index's best
performer so far this year, dropped 0.37%. However, a rise in
shares of Apple Inc AAPL.O , ahead of its quarterly report
after markets close on Tuesday, helped support the blue-chip Dow
Industrials index .DJI .
"Today is the day that people will take risk off the table,
so they can be flatter heading into the Fed meeting," Michael
Antonelli, market strategist at Robert W. Baird in Milwaukee,
said.
The S&P 500 index has risen 2.7% this month on hopes that
the Fed would take a more dovish approach to counter the impact
of a protracted U.S.-China trade war, which has helped Wall
Street's main indexes scale record levels this month.
But the market's recovery from a torrid month of trading in
May have also been dependent on other indicators like earnings
not being so robust as to make the U.S. central bank hold fire.
Data from Refinitiv shows 76% of the 222 S&P 500 companies
that have reported earnings so far have topped profit estimates,
but reports on the U.S. economy went in the opposite direction,
supporting action by the Fed.
A quarter point cut to bolster the amount of capital
coursing through financial markets and support borrowing by
ordinary Americans is fully priced in for Wednesday and it will
be policymakers' comments on what next would define whether a
rally since May continues.
Fed's rate-setting committee will release its policy
statement at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) on Wednesday after the end of
a two-day meeting and Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press
conference shortly after.
Antonelli said investors will watch Powell's speech for
clues on whether it is just an insurance cut or the start of a
tightening cycle.
Among other stocks, Mylan NV MYL.O jumped 8.36% after it
confirmed reports over the weekend that it was combining with
Pfizer Inc's PFE.N off-patent branded and generic established
medicines business to form a new global player. Pfizer fell 2.29% after the drugmaker cut its full-year
profit and revenue forecast in an unexpected release of its
quarterly results to go with the deal announcement.
At 11:09 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 61.11 points, or 0.22%, at 27,253.56, the S&P 500 .SPX was
down 6.58 points, or 0.22%, at 3,019.28.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was down 62.05 points, or
0.74%, at 8,268.17. Weighing on the tech-heavy index were
declines in shares of heavyweights Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O and
Microsoft Corp MSFT.O .
Among other decliners, the communication services sector
.SPLRCL fell 0.77% following a 3% surge on Friday owing to
upbeat results from Google-parent Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O .
Defensive real estate .SPLRCR and consumer staples
.SPLRCS sectors were among the few trading in positive
territory.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.30-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and for a 1.64-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 27 new 52-week highs and three new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 46 new highs and 76 new lows.