U.S. stocks drift after big rallies that began in Asia run out of momentum

A big rally for global stock markets that began in Asia on Monday petered out by the time trading got to Wall Street.

The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in morning trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 154 points, or 0.3 per cent, as of 10 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1 per cent higher.

The modest moves followed a 3.9 per cent burst higher for Japan’s Nikkei 225 to a record. Stocks rallied there following a landslide victory for the prime minister’s political party in a parliamentary election. The thought is that will give Sanae Takaichi more power to push through reforms that will boost the economy and market.

On Wall Street, the U.S. stock market took a pause following its own big rally on Friday, which was its best day since May. Several concerns still hang over the market, including criticism that stocks have simply become too expensive. The S&P 500 remains near its all-time high set last month.

Worries are also heavy about whether all the huge spending by Big Tech and other companies on AI can produce enough profit to make the investments worth it.

The majority of stocks fell on Wall Street Monday, but some of the winners of that rush into AI helped prop up the market. Chip companies rose, for example, with Nvidia up 3.3% and Broadcom up 1.5 per cent. They were two of the strongest forces pushing upward on the S&P 500.