By Shashank Nayar and Medha Singh
(Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes dropped on Tuesday after a strong start to March as bond yields pulled back from a one-year high, while investors also looked to cues on progress in the next round of fiscal stimulus.
The S&P 500 on Monday logged its best day since June as markets cheered approval of a third COVID-19 vaccine in the United States and the U.S. House of Representatives' green light for a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.
The U.S. Senate will start debating President Joe Biden's relief bill this week when Democrats aim to pass the legislation through a maneuver known as "reconciliation," which would allow the bill to pass with a simple majority.
"The market works like a pendulum and has a tendency to go down after seeing gains like in the previous session," said Randy Frederick, vice president at Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) in Austin.
"But concerns over lofty valuations and inflation persist even as the overall trend seems to be positive."
The technology sector dropped about 1%, extending a pullback from late last month after a selloff in the U.S. bond market sparked fears over highly valued stocks.
Yields on the benchmark 10-year Treasury bonds have stabilized after hitting a one-year high last week.
At 11:36 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 101.65 points, or 0.32%, to 31,433.86, the S&P 500 lost 23.50 points, or 0.60%, to 3,878.32 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 149.77 points, or 1.10%, to 13,439.06.
Materials, consumer staples and energy stocks outperformed among major S&P sectors.
Later in the week, investors will focus on ISM's service sector survey as well as the monthly U.S. jobs report to ascertain the economic health.
Kohl's Corp (NYSE:KSS) rose about 1.5% as it posted holiday-quarter results beyond market expectations on a boost in online sales and as the company reined in costs.
TV ratings provider Nielsen gained nearly 5% after it sold its advanced video advertising business to television streaming platform provider Roku. Shares of Roku dropped 3.6%.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.6-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 2.2-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 20 new 52-week highs and no new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 147 new highs and 111 new lows.