Dow hits record high while tech cedes ground

By Noel Randewich and Kimberly Chin

(Reuters) - The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a record high on Monday, helped by Boeing, while selling in Facebook, Alphabet and other technology companies kept the S&P 500 flat and pulled the Nasdaq lower.

The S&P 500 information technology <.SPLRCT> dipped 0.51 percent, with Facebook falling 1.82 percent and Alphabet , Google's parent company, down 1.42 percent.

"The bull market is sort of broadening out and people are taking a few profits off the table on some these stocks that have done exceedingly well," said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas.

 

Boeing rose 1.04 percent and hit a record high of $243.60 after JPMorgan raised its price target on the world's biggest plane maker to $280. The stock was the largest contributor to the Dow's gains.

Apple Inc , which is expected to report quarterly results after market close on Tuesday, dipped 0.59 percent.

Investors have been counting on earnings to support high valuations for equities.

S&P 500 earnings are expected on average to have grown 10.8 percent in the second quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

"We're probably seeing peak earnings," said Ed Keon, managing director and portfolio manager at QMA, a multi-asset manager in Newark, New Jersey. "I think we'll be a little slower in the second half."

At 2:32 pm ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> was up 0.41 percent at 21,920.9 points and the S&P 500 <.SPX> gained 0.06 percent to 2,473.48. The Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> dropped 0.35 percent to 6,352.25.

Seven of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, with the financial index's <.SPSY> 0.64 percent rise leading the gainers.

The National Association of Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed last month, jumped 1.5 percent to a reading of 110.2.

Snap fell 2.5 percent as some investors were allowed for the first time to sell shares following the Snapchat owner's March initial public offer.

Discovery Communications dropped 8.8 percent after it said it would buy Scripps Networks Interactive for $11.9 billion.

Charter Communications Inc rose 5 percent to a record high after a source said Japan's SoftBank Group Corp 9984.T was considering an acquisition offer.

(Additional reporting by Ankur Banerjee, Sweta Singh, and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Nick Zieminski)