Wall St. to open slightly lower after record run

[February 27, 2017]  By Yashaswini Swamynathan

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks looked set to open slightly lower on Monday as investors paused to assess Wall Street's recent record-setting run.

Investors will be closely watching President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday evening for clues on his proposed tax reform and his plans to overhaul the Affordable Healthcare Act.

Trump's promise a few weeks ago of a "phenomenal" tax announcement helped rekindle a post-election rally, driving the main U.S. markets to record highs.

But since then, markets have traded range-bound amid caution due to sparse details on Trump's agenda. Utilities and telecom services stocks - traditionally defensive plays of the S&P 500 index - outperformed the other sectors last week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> hit its 11th straight record close on Friday, despite just a 0.05 percent rise.

"The market activity suggests another mixed session today as investors await the key events of the week," Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial wrote.

Dow e-minis were down 15 points, or 0.07 percent at 8:31 a.m. ET, with 28,798 contracts changing hands.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., February 22, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

S&P 500 e-minis were down 1.5 points, or 0.06 percent, with 179,384 contracts traded.

Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 10.5 points, or 0.2 percent, on volume of 27,353 contracts.

Among stocks, electric carmaker Tesla  slipped 3.1 percent to $249 in premarket trading after Goldman Sachs downgraded the company's stock to "sell" from "neutral" and lowered its price target.

Apple edged up 0.2 percent after Warren Buffett told CNBC that Berkshire Hathaway had bought 120 million shares of the iPhone maker this year.

La Jolla Pharmaceutical jumped 30 percent to $25.76 following the success of its lead experimental drug in a late-stage study.

Shutterstock dropped 11 percent to $46 after the stock image provider reported quarterly revenue that missed analysts' average estimate.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

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