Wall Street dips as investors book profits after record day

By Yashaswini Swamynathan

REUTERS - U.S. stocks slipped on Thursday as investors booked profits after a record day on Wall Street that propelled the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 21,000 for the first time ever.

Wall Street's main indexes on Wednesday posted their best day since the November election, boosted by President Donald Trump's more measured tone in a speech to Congress and as bank stocks surged on increased chances of an interest rate hike this month.

"It seems like after yesterday's surge, there is no real news out there this morning and it is almost like the market's simply taking a breather," said Ryan Detrick, senior market strategist at LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The next big theme for the market is the Federal Reserve's policy-setting meeting on March 14-15. A large number of Fed officials this week have stoked the possibility of an interest rate hike as the economy strengthens.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen is set to speak on Friday, and could provide the strongest indication on a move in the coming weeks.

Traders have currently priced in a 74 percent chance of a rate hike this month, up from roughly 30 percent at the start of the week, according to Thomson Reuters data.

At 11:06 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 34.87 points, or 0.17 percent, at 21,080.68, the S&P 500 was down 8.58 points, or 0.35 percent, at 2,387.38 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 23.71 points, or 0.4 percent, at 5,880.32.

Oil prices fell more than 1.4 percent following a report that showed U.S. crude oil stocks hit an all-time high. [O/R]

Ten of the 11 major S&P indexes were lower. The financial index, which outperformed on Wednesday and in the broader post-election rally, slipped 0.83 percent on Thursday.

"The losses are much smaller than the gains yesterday, so it seems like some modest profit taking here as we gear up for the upcoming news," Detrick said.

Shares of Snap Inc, the parent company of messaging app Snapchat, were up 45.7 percent at $24.76. The stock debuted at $24 after its IPO was priced at $17.

Kroger slipped 2.9 percent after the supermarket operator reported a surprise decline in holiday-quarter same-store sales.

Monster Beverage was the biggest percentage gainer on the S&P, rising 13.7 percent following a quarterly revenue that beat analysts' average estimate.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 1,929 to 866. On the Nasdaq, 1,679 issues fell and 1,019 advanced.

The S&P 500 index showed 27 new 52-week highs and three new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 100 new highs and 21 new lows.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)