NEW YORK, July 31 — US stocks dropped yesterday to pull further from record highs as an underwhelming earnings report from Amazon.com Inc dampened the market mood, while the dollar bounced from its lows but still suffered its worst week in nearly two months.
Amazon shares slumped 7.6 per cent, dragging the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite down 0.7 per cent. That fed profit-taking elsewhere, with the S&P 500 losing 0.5 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.4 per cent. Both the S&P 500 and the Dow struck record highs on Thursday. Treasury yields edged lower as investors shied away from higher-risk investments. Data released yesterday showed annual inflation accelerating further above the Federal Reserve’s 2 per cent target, but that did not appear to alter investors’ bets that the Fed is in no hurry to tighten monetary policy.
The dollar, which hit a one-month low on Thursday, bounced following remarks by St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard that the Fed should start reducing its monthly bond purchases this fall. Oil prices kept their march higher, as investors bet that vaccinations would alleviate the impact of a resurgence in Covid-19 infections across the globe and keep demand growing faster than supply.