Health insurance, drugstore chain, enterprise software and select retailing firms paced a broad decline in stocks today, helping send the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.8% by day's end. That marked the blue chip index's biggest single-day drop since Feb. 7.
XMeanwhile, small caps had a tougher day on Wall Street. The Russell 2000 slipped nearly 1%. The small-cap S&P 600 gave back nearly 1.1% and continues to trade beneath its flattening 200-day moving average.
More than two dozen of the IBD 197 industry groups fell 2% or more, and a large swath of these industries are ranked in the top 20 in terms of six-month price performance. Therefore, Monday's market session seemed to indicate a willingness by institutions to grab some profits off the table.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, closing at 25,819, had climbed in nine of the past 10 weeks of trading. Despite Monday's fall, the 30-stock blue chip average shows a hefty year-to-date gain of 10.7%.
These Software Stocks Fall More Than The Dow Jones
In the enterprise software space, Workday (WDAY) showed significant selling pressure. Yet the expert in human resources management steered clear of taking out its rising 50-day moving average. Shares dropped nearly 6% in heavy turnover.
That big drop cut Workday's profit after a sound second breakout past a 146.98 buy point in a double bottom to around 21%. That' still a hefty gain, and justifies the IBD offense-type sell rule.
Salesforce.com (CRM), due to report fiscal fourth-quarter results after the close, shaved a more than 5.5% loss to less than 4%. Volume rushed more than double its 50-day average of 5.87 million shares per day.
The Street expects profit by the pioneer in cloud-based sales and marketing support software to rise 17% to 55 cents a share, on top of a 68% leap in the year-ago quarter.
Salesforce shares hold a minor gain after breaking out of a base at 153.37, a well-formed cup with handle.
Some ETFs Fall More Than The Major Equity Indexes
The Innovator IBD Breakout Opportunities (BOUT) ETF lost early gains and dropped 1.7% to 19.94. Volume jumped 67% above its 50-day average level.
BOUT retook its key 50-day moving average in late January, a bullish sign that institutional appetite for high-growth stocks has returned.
In Other Financial Markets
Crude oil advanced. Investors also bought back long-dated U.S. Treasury bonds. The yield on the benchmark 10-year bond fell 3 basis points to 2.72%.
Please follow Chung on Twitter at @IBD_DChung for more on growth stocks, chart analysis and sell signals.
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