Stocks fall in lackluster trading

U.S. stocks drifted lower Monday, as investors continued to take a breather after the recent run-up that pushed the Dow and S&P 500 near all-time highs.

With no significant economic or corporate news for investors to chew on, the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq all finished the day down about 0.1%.
Markets have had a good run so far in 2013. The Dow and S&P 500 are both up nearly 7% and still within range of their all-time highs, while the Nasdaq has gained nearly 6%.
Investors have been upbeat after Washington lawmakers resolved some of the nation's fiscal problems at the beginning of the year, even though they punted on others. Economic news has also been relatively strong. There has been improvement in the housing market. Corporate earnings have largely beat analysts' modest expectations.
So far, two-thirds of the companies in the S&P 500 have reported results for the fourth quarter, with 70% of them beating forecasts, said Oliver Pursche, president at financial services firm Gary Goldberg & Company. The results paint a "healthy picture for corporate profitability," he said.
 --CNN--