– National
Stocks fell moderately Monday as news of job cuts at Merck & Co. and a mixed holiday sales snapshot prompted Wall Street to take a breather from its recent five-week rally.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 40.90, or 0.4 percent, to 10,890.72. The S & P; 500 slid 10.79, or 0.9 percent, to 1,257.46. The Nasdaq fell 23.64, or 1 percent, to 2,239.37.
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– Local
Local movers were led by Daily Journal Corp., which gained 2 percent to $41, and Cadiz Inc., which edged up 3 percent to $20.10. On the down side, IRIS International Inc. plunged 10.8 percent to $24.09 and shares of Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. dropped 3.5 percent to $62.63.
Shares of Cheesecake Factory Inc. rose 2.5 percent to $36.37 after investment research firm Buckingham Research said its casual dining wait-time survey showed that the average wait at Cheesecake Factory has climbed 13 percent to 33 minutes. The firm raised the Calabasas Hills based causal dining chain’s stock rating to “strong buy” from “accumulate.” Buckingham suggested that November may mark a turning point for the casual dining segment’s sales trends.
Ryland Group Inc. fell 4.1 percent to $73.24 after reacting to news that sales of existing homes eased in October from September’s pace and inventories rose to their highest levels in years. Shares of KB Home slipped 3.2 percent to $69.63.
