WALL STREET SLIPS; INDEXES STILL NEAR RECORD HIGHS
U.S. stocks were lower in early afternoon trading on Friday as health stocks weighed and investors cashed in after the post-election rally, but the three major indexes continued to hover near record levels. The Nasdaq hit a record high earlier in the session, helped by a rise in Microsoft (MSFT.O) and other big tech stocks. Losses in shares of Merck (MRK.N) and Johnson and Johnson (JNJ.N) dragged down the S&P health sector .SPXHC, which led the decliners with a 1.08 percent fall. U.S. stocks had been on a tear since Donald Trump's surprise victory in the presidential election last week as his proposals to increase infrastructure spending and reduce taxes are seen benefiting the economy.