Stocks close mostly lower, pushing pause on recent rally

Stocks closed mostly lower Monday as Wall Street pumped the brakes after a recent run of strong gains. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 0.2%, as losses in healthcare, financial and energy companies outweighed gains in technology, communication and utilities stocks. The pickup in technology companies, whose profits have proved more resistant to the pandemic’s effect on the economy, helped nudge the Nasdaq composite to its third consecutive all-time high. Investors are optimistic that one or more coronavirus vaccines will soon be cleared for distribution in the U.S., setting the stage for an economic turnaround. But worries are mounting about more economic pain as states impose new...