Wall Street pares gains as energy shares slip

By Yashaswini Swamynathan

REUTERS - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq trimmed gains after touching record highs for the second straight day on Tuesday as a rise in technology shares were offset by a fall in energy stocks.

Investors are taking on more risks after a strong showing by Corporate America in the latest earnings season and Emmanuel Macron's victory in the French presidential election on Sunday.

The VIX, Wall Street's "fear gauge", hit its lowest level in more than a decade earlier in the day. A lower VIX typically indicates a bullish outlook for stocks.

However, analysts cautioned against investor complacency, especially after the market's strong run since Donald Trump's election as U.S. president.

"In the short-term, investors can enjoy this run, but they should start to hedge their positions and look for safety," said Christian Magoon, chief executive at Amplify ETFs in Chicago, Illinois.

"Given world events, common sense would say there should be at least average volatility in daily price movement on the S&P 500. The index seems to be very lethargic."

The index has not moved more than 0.4 percent in either direction in the past 11 trading days.

At 12:28 p.m. ET (1628 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.33 points, or 0.01 percent, at 21,010.95, the S&P 500 was up 0.85 points, or 0.03 percent, at 2,400.23 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 23.68 points, or 0.39 percent, at 6,126.34.

Five of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, led by technology, while the typically defensive plays such as utilities and telecom services fell.

Energy dropped 0.85 percent on the back of falling oil prices.

Shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals jumped more than 21 percent after the company posted its first profit in six quarters.

Endo International, Office Depot and Marriott also rose after reporting better-than-expected quarterly earnings.

Wayfair surged to an all-time high of $62.65 after the online furniture retailer revenue beat analysts' expectations.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 1,534 to 1,301. On the Nasdaq, 1,501 issues rose and 1,233 fell.

The S&P 500 index showed 38 new 52-week highs and three new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 96 new highs and 42 new lows.

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