NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street stocks fell on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 notching a fifth straight day of losses as financial stocks were hit by fears that regulations on the banking industry would tighten once the Democratic Party takes control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Financial stocks fell after Democrat Maxine Waters, who is expected to become chair of the House Financial Services Committee, made clear that she intends to push for stricter rules on the sector. Waters said she was concerned by the Federal Reserve’s efforts to reduce capital and liquidity requirements for banks and wants the central bank to vigorously supervise large banks.
The financial sector .SPSY dropped 1.4 percent and was the biggest percentage decliner on the S&P 500. The S&P 500 Banks index .SPXBK fell 1.7 percent.
U.S. stocks pared losses somewhat after British Prime Minister Theresa May won the backing of her senior ministers on a draft agreement for exiting the European Union, though they resumed their descent in the last half-hour of trading.
“Clarity on Brexit immediately lent a bid to the broader market,” said Ryan Larson, head of U.S. equity trading at RBC Global Asset Management in Chicago. “Financials are still lagging, but the broader market has recovered quite some from earlier lows.”
Technology stocks also extended recent losses as shares of Apple Inc (AAPL.O) fell for a fifth consecutive day on mounting concerns that iPhone sales have hit a wall. At their session low, Apple shares were down more than 20 percent from their record high.
Apple’s 2.8 percent drop helped drag the S&P 500 technology index .SPLRCT
