S&P, Nasdaq reverse course after touching record highs

By Yashaswini Swamynathan

REUTERS - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite lost ground after touching record highs on Monday as investors looked for fresh catalysts following centrist Emmanuel Macron's widely expected victory in the French presidential election.

Currency markets were in sharp focus, with the euro hitting a six-month high against the dollar after Macron comfortably defeated far-right nationalist Marine Le Pen who had threatened to take France out of the European Union.

"We're sitting here waiting for additional information to digest for the balance of this week. But we remain largely constructive of the equity market and view that the path of least resistance is higher," said Bill Northey, chief investment officer at Private Client Group of U.S. Bank.

At 11:02 a.m. ET (1502 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 13.86 points, or 0.07 percent, at 20,993.08.

The Nasdaq Composite was down 9.19 points, or 0.15 percent, at 6,091.57, after hitting a record high of 6,106.11.

The S&P 500 was down 3.08 points, or 0.12 percent, at 2,396.21, reversing from an all-time high of 2,401.36.

The index has not moved more than 0.4 percent in the past 10 trading days, despite a flurry of quarterly earnings.

Seven of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, with energy rising the most by 0.35 percent on the back of higher oil prices.

Utilities and other defensive sectors were firmly in the red.

Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester said the central bank's goals were largely met and a slow withdrawal of the Fed from the bond market would not harm the U.S. economy.

However, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said strong bond demand and low labor force growth would keep a lid on interest rates.

Shares of Kate Spade rose 8.2 percent to $18.36 after bigger rival Coach Inc said it would buy the company for $2.4 billion. Coach shares rose 5.8 percent.

Straight Path surged 32 percent to $212.55 after an unnamed telecommunications company raised its offer to buy the wireless spectrum holder for about $3.1 billion, trumping a bid by AT&T. Sources told Reuters that the bidder was Verizon.

Tyson Foods was the biggest S&P loser, down nearly 5 percent after the meat processor reported a slump in quarterly profit.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 1,736 to 1,018. On the Nasdaq, 1,590 issues fell and 1,062 advanced.

The S&P 500 index showed 38 52-week highs and two lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 85 highs and 29 lows.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)