US Stocks Fall, Continue Losing Streak

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks fell in morning trading on Wall Street Monday, continuing a losing streak that has brought the market down for six weeks in a row.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.3% as of 10:19 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 91 points, or 0.3%, to 32,104 and the Nasdaq fell 0.3%.

Technology stocks led the decline. Apple fell 0.5% and Microsoft fell 1%. The sector has been a particularly heavy weight on the broader market as investors worry about high inflation and rising interest rates.

Retailers also fell broadly. Amazon slipped 1% and Starbucks fell 1.9%.

Bond yields fell and weighed down banks, which rely on higher yields to charge more lucrative interest on loans. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 2.88% from 2.94% late Friday. Bank of America fell 1.3%.

Spirit Airlines rose 11.8% after JetBlue said it would make a hostile offer for the budget carrier after Spirit rebuffed its earlier bids.

Defense contractor ManTech jumped 14.8% after investment firm Carlyle Group said it will buy the defense contractor.

The broader market is in the midst of a slump as investors try to gauge how companies and consumers are dealing with higher prices and whether central banks can help ease the problem.

The Federal Reserve is in the process of pulling its benchmark short-term interest rate off its record low near zero, where it spent most of the pandemic. It also said it may continue to raise rates by double the usual amount at upcoming meetings. Investors are concerned that the central bank could cause a recession if it raises rates too high or too quickly.

Lingering supply chain problems continue to feed inflation, and China's recent COVID-19 lockdowns have raised concerns that they may worsen. Russia's war against Ukraine has made already high energy prices even more volatile, which could also draw out rising inflation.

Oil prices were relatively stable, though U.S. crude oil prices are up more than 50% for the year. Natural gas prices rose 5% and have more than doubled in 2022.

Wall Street is closely watching how consumers react to pressure from inflation and will get several updates from the U.S. government and key retailers this week. The Commerce Department on Tuesday will release its retail sales report for April.

Home Depot and Walmart will report their latest financial results on Tuesday and Target will report its results on Wednesday.