US stocks retreat, extending volatile run

NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks fell Tuesday, giving back a portion of the gains from the prior session's rally as investors girded for more volatility.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note continued to decline Tuesday, but investors are grappling with the chance that inflation could rise if President Joe Biden' $1.9 trillion stimulus plan is passed.

"The Fed still wants to continue this easy money policy," said JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade, who said many investors fear inflation or view the economy as well on its way to recovery.

"The policy makers and the market are having a little bit of a tug of war," Kinahan said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5 percent to 31,391.52.

The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 0.8 percent to 3,870.29, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 1.7 percent to 13,358.95.

Among individual companies, Target slumped 6.8 percent despite reporting a 66 percent jump in fourth-quarter income to $1.4 billion on another round of surging sales amid the coronavirus pandemic.

However, investors were caught off guard by the big-box chain's announcement to spend $4 billion on more store and e-commerce upgrades.

Rocket Companies, a personal finance firm, surged more than 70 percent, in the latest rally prompted by investors on social media company Reddit's WallStreetBets.