US markets today: Wall Street slips after record highs; Pfizer-Metsera deal sparks pharma gains
US stocks slipped on Monday as Wall Street took a breather following a string of record highs last week. The S&P 500 dipped 0.2%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 228 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite eased 0.1% as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, AP reported. All three indexes had hit fresh all-time highs on Friday.Market analysts noted the pullback is modest compared with the surge since April, driven by optimism that President Donald Trump’s tariffs will not disrupt global trade and expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue cutting interest rates to support the US economy. The Fed made its first rate cut of the year last week and signalled additional cuts may follow this year and into 2026.“Every time the market seems to be running out of momentum, it fools most of us by pushing to higher heights,” said Jay Woods, chief market strategist at Freedom Capital Markets.Investors remain wary that the Fed may not cut rates as many times as expected, with inflation staying above the 2% target. An update on Friday will show the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, with economists anticipating a slight acceleration for August. Stocks are also seen as expensive by many professional investors after recent gains.Among notable movers, Coinbase Global fell 3.8% but remains up nearly 33% for the year amid strong interest in cryptocurrencies.Corporate deal activity lifted some stocks: Pfizer agreed to buy Metsera, a development-stage obesity drugmaker, in a deal valued at $4.9 billion, potentially rising by nearly 50% if regulatory approvals and milestones are met. Metsera shares jumped 60.7%, and Pfizer gained 1.2%.ODP, which operates Office Depot and Office Max, surged 33.2% after Atlas Holdings announced a $1 billion acquisition. Anywhere Real Estate soared 61.6% after Compass said it would acquire the company behind Coldwell Banker and Corcoran brands in an all-stock deal valued at roughly $10 billion including debt; Compass shares dipped 0.1%.Global markets showed mixed moves with Japan’s Nikkei 225 up 1% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.8%. In the US bond market, the 10-year Treasury yield edged down to 4.13% from 4.14% on Friday.
