US stocks retreat from record highs, bulls take a breather ahead of a busy week

Major US equity indices took a breather from their recent record-setting rally as traders now seemed to refrain from placing fresh bets ahead of some influential market moving events/releases. 

The pullback from record highs comes on the first day of a busy week, featuring the highly anticipated FOMC meeting, a speech by the US President Donald Trump, the keenly watched monthly jobs report and a big dose of corporate earnings.

The State of the Union address by the US President Donal Trump will grab all the spotlight on Tuesday, especially after last week's move to slap new tariffs on imported solar panels and washing machines.

Meanwhile, today's release of the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, pointing to sluggish inflationary pressure, also did little to provide any fresh bullish impetus and further collaborated to the early profit-taking slide.

During the opening hour of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped around 20-points to 26,600 and the broader S&P 500 Index lost nearly 3-points to 2,869. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index retreated over 11-points and held weaker below the 7,500 psychological mark.