(MENAFN- AFP) Retail and tech equities led US stock markets lower Monday following a disappointing kickoff of the holiday shopping season.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 51.44 points (0.29 percent) at 17,776.80.
The broad-based S&P 500 fell 14.12 (0.68 percent) to 2,053.44, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index sank 64.28 (1.34 percent) to 4,727.35. Apple's 3.3 percent drop weighed on both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500.
Retailers ranging from discount giant Wal-Mart Stores (-1.5 percent) to department store Macy's (-2.7 percent) and electronics vendor Best Buy (-5.5 percent) suffered after the National Retail Federation estimated the average shopper spent 6.4 percent less than a year ago over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
The day after Thursday's Thanksgiving Day holiday, known as "Black Friday," unofficially kicks off the critical year-end shopping season.
"It was a tough day for anything that is tied to the consumer," said Michael James, managing director of equity trading, Wedbush Securities.
James noted that many retail stocks were vulnerable after notching big gains in November ahead of Black Friday.
Several high-flying tech stocks also fell sharply, including Facebook (-3.4 percent), Tesla Motors (-5.3 percent) and Twitter (-6.5 percent). Google dropped 1.5 percent while Netflix fell 1.4 percent.
Mace Blicksilver, director of Marblehead Asset Management, said some investors took advantage of the "turn of the calendar" to December to take profits after the Nasdaq's especially strong November.
Chinese online retail giant Alibaba sank 5.1 percent after a US retailing lobby, the Alliance for Main Street Fairness, targeted the company in its campaign against tax advantages that Internet vendors enjoy over fixed stores.
US online retailing giant Amazon tumbled 3.7 percent as Moody's shifted its outlook to negative after the company announced plans to issue more debt.
Several petroleum equities rallied as crude prices rebounded from five-year lows. Dow members ExxonMobil and Chevron gained 2.0 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively, while smaller producers Occidental Petroleum (+3.8 percent) and EOG Resources (+0.6 percent) also advanced.
But oil services stocks continued to drop. Schlumberger fell 0.8 percent, Halliburton lost 2.4 percent and Transocean slumped 4.9 percent.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.22 percent from 2.19 percent Friday, while the 30-year advanced to 2.95 percent from 2.91 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
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