Wall Street edges back from record high after Dow briefly tops 40,000

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks edged back from their record heights Thursday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly topped the 40,000 level for the first time.

The Dow slipped 38.62 points, or 0.1%, to 39,869.38. The S&P 500 index, which is much more widely followed on Wall Street, dipped 11.05, or 0.2%, to 5,297.10, and the Nasdaq composite fell 44.07, or 0.3%, to 16,698.32. All three indexes had rallied on Wednesday to all-time highs.

Deere weighed on the mar- ket and sank 4.7% despite reporting stronger profit for its latest quarter than expected. It cut its forecast for upcoming profit this fis- cal year, below analysts’ esti- mates, as farmers buy fewer tractors.

Homebuilders also helped drag the market lower follow- ing a weaker-than-expected report on the housing indus- try. They gave back some of their big gains from the day before, when hopes for lower mortgage rates had sent them sharply higher. D.R. Horton sank 4.2%, Len- nar fell 3.3% and PulteGroup dropped 2.8%.

Also sinking were GameStop and AMC Enter- tainment, which slid for a second straight day follow- ing their jaw-dropping starts to the week. They’ve been moving more on excitement drummed up by investors than any changes to their financial prospects.

GameStop fell 30%, though it’s still up nearly 59% for the week so far. AMC Entertain- ment lost 15.3%.

Such drops helped off- set a 7% jump for Walmart, which reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than expected. The retailer also said its revenue for the year could top the forecasted range it had earlier given.

Walmart’s strength could be an encouraging signal for the broader economy. Worries have been rising about whether U.S. households can keep up with high inflation and more expensive credit-card payments, particularly households at the lower end of the income spectrum.