U.S. equities and stock exchange traded funds hovered near record highs as materials producers kept a lid on gains with falling metals prices.
The S&P 500 Index, along with related funds including the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEArca: SPY), iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (NYSEArca: IVV) and Vanguard 500 Index (NYSEArca: VOO), were 0.1% lower Monday.
Dragging on the equities market, materials shares in the S&P 500 dipped 0.7% due ongoing weakness in base metal prices, notably copper. Industrial metals look brittle on weak economic data out of China, which raised concerns about slipping demand from the world’s largest consumer of copper, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Traders also sold off on European equities and currencies in the wake of Emmanuel Macron’s widely anticipated victory in the run-off French elections. Many likely engaged in the time-honored tradition of profit taking as European equities surged in the week leading up to the election.