NEW YORK -- Stocks wobbled Thursday as investors changed course and tempered their expectations for faster economic growth. Industrial companies, which have surged over the past few months, finished lower as Wall Street focused on gold, bonds, and companies that pay big dividends.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 34.72 points, or 0.2 percent, to 20,810.32. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.99 point to 2,363.81. The Nasdaq composite lost 25.12 points, or 0.4 percent, to 5,835.51. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks slid 9.23 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,394.62.
Shares of construction equipment, transportation and metals companies skidded and small-company stocks, which are more sensitive to changes in economic growth, also slumped. Technology companies fell for the first time in February. The biggest gains went to utilities, real estate investment trusts, and other companies that pay hefty dividends.
Industrial companies have made big gains since November as investors expect President Donald Trump's administration and the Republican Congress to ramp up spending on infrastructure.
An infrastructure spending bill is one of the administration's proposals for speeding up economic growth, along with tax cuts and reduced regulations. But Jeff Kravetz, regional investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, said it might take a while before any bills are introduced or become law.
"They're all positive initiatives for the economy but to get any of these done is not something we can get done in a few months," he said. "We may have gotten ahead of ourselves with a lot of these initiatives."
Shares of industrial companies declined for the second day in a row, and took some of their biggest losses since the presidential election. Shares of construction equipment maker Caterpillar fell $2.65, or 2.7 percent, to $95.55, its biggest loss since September. United Rentals shed $7.16, or 5.6 percent, to $120.90.
The price of copper fell 3.3 percent to $2.64 a pound, its biggest one-day decline in more than a year. Copper is used in numerous construction projects, so its price has jumped recently. Companies that make basic materials also fell, and U.S. Steel lost $3.18, or 7.9 percent, to $37.31.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.37 percent from 2.42 percent.
That helped companies that pay big dividends, like utilities, real estate investment trusts and phone companies. Electricity company FirstEnergy picked up 60 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $31.39. Realty Income, which owns properties used by retailers like drugstores and discount stores, gained $1.72, or 2.8 percent, to $62.86.
In another sign investors were seeking some refuge, gold jumped $18.10, or 1.5 percent, to $1,251.40 an ounce and silver rose 17 cents to $18.12 an ounce.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil futures rebounded, rising 86 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $54.45 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the standard for pricing international oils, rose 61 cents to $56.58 a barrel in London.
Business on 02/24/2017