However, the good economic news was offset by weakness in other areas of the market. For instance, after Warren Buffett revealed he sold nearly a third of his stake in IBM, the tech giant’s share’s declined 2.3% to a six-month low, accounting for the largest drag on the blue-chip-focused Dow Index, along with the S&P 500.
The healthcare sector was also slipped 0.4% after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a healthcare overhaul bill Thursday.
Nevertheless, the U.S. markets remain near record levels as a strong earnings season helped support fears of pricey valuations in domestic equities. Around 80% of the S&P 500 companies have revealed their first-quarter reports with 75% beating profit estimates.
“This lackluster behavior is occurring when the market is a stone’s throw away from all-time highs, so it is either going to break out and make new highs or will go into a short corrective phase. Until then, it is a waiting game,” Andre Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital, told Reuters.
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