US shares slide on profit-taking

Lacking major earnings or economic news to guide them, investors fell back on profit-taking today, sending stocks sharply lower and knocking the Dow Jones industrials down more than 120 points.

Analysts expect the market to pull back or make little progress ahead of a decision on Wednesday on interest rates. Investors anticipate that the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee will again cut rates to stimulate the economy, and analysts say that expectation has largely been factored into higher stock prices.