Stocks Retreat From Record Highs as Political Turmoil Continues

The Dow spent most of its Monday session in retreat, finishing the day with a nearly 90-point drop, as traders kept their attention trained on last week's election turmoil and the ever-present promise of more Covid-19 stimulus relief. News that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called for the impeachment of President Donald Trump also rippled through Wall Street today. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were also nursing sizable losses during today's trading, ending the session deep in the red, as investors begin bracing themselves for a possible market correction, following last week's slew of record highs.  

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

• One homebuilding stock option traders are optimistic on. 
• Why Wayfair stock's recent pullback could be an attractive buy for bulls. 
• Plus, checking in with BlackRock stock before earnings; the TSLA rival that just hit a fresh high; and Amazon bans big app after last week's Capitol attack. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 31,008.69) dropped 89.3 points, or 0.3% on Monday. Twelve of the Dow components finished higher, with Walgreens-Boots Alliance (WBA) taking the lead with a 5.5% surge, while Apple (AAPL), fell to the bottom of the 18 losers, down 2.3% for the day. 

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index (SPX - 3,799.6) was down 25.1 points or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC - 13,036.43) shed 165.5 points, or 1.3%.

Lastly, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX - 24.08) added 2.5 points, or 11.7%.

1. Data from the National Women's Law Center (NWLC) is suggesting that all 140,000 jobs lost in December belonged to women. This is a stark contrast from one year ago, when the number of women in the U.S. workforce edged higher than the number of men for the first time since 2010.  (CNBC)
2. A new forecast from the Consumer Technology Association shows that U.S. consumer electronics retail sales are expected to grow 4.3%  in 2021 to $461 billion. The Consumer Technology Association is the sponsor of this week's annual CES trade show, which will be held virtually this year. (MarketWatch) 
3. How the world's largest asset manager is performing ahead of earnings. 
4. The Tesla rival that hit fresh highs on analyst love today. 
5. Amazon took a breather after banning Parler. 

There were no earnings of note today.

Oil Closes Flat, Gold Brushes Off Strengthening Dollar

The strengthening U.S. dollar sent oil prices toward uncertainty from last week's highs, while growing concerns over the negative effects of the coronavirus on both the commodity and the economy in general also put a damper on liquid gold. February-dated crude scraped together 1 cent, or 0.02%, to settle at $52.25 per barrel. 

Gold meanwhile, clawed its way higher. A dramatic drop in Bitcoin prices, plus talks of a market correction likely put some wind at the commodity's back, though the dollar's modest rebound put a cap on some of today's gains. February-dated gold tacked on $15.40, 0.8%, to settle at $1,835.40 an ounce.