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Wall Street slips from record highs

Investors booked profits on the second to last day of what has been a most bountiful trading year. Tech stocks led the broad-based pullback Monday. The Dow and S&P 500 retreated from their record highs, with the indexes falling more than half percent.

Spartan Capital Securities chief market economist, Peter Cardillo:

SOUNDBITE: SPARTAN CAPITAL SECURITIES CHIEF MARKET ECONOMIST, PETER CARDILLO (ENGLISH) SAYING:

"It's a little bit of profit taking. The markets registered new record highs basically on a daily basis for such a long time without pulling back and it was looking tired."

Even solid economic news couldn't prop up stocks. Pending home sales, a barometer of the health of the housing market, rebounded in November. Also that month: U.S. exports grew, shrinking the U.S. trade deficit more than economists had projected. And the White House's trade advisor said Monday a trade deal with China would likely be signed next week.

Tesla shares tumbled from their all-time high. The electric car maker started delivering its mass market Model 3 sedans that were built at its Shanghai factory.

Shares of its smaller rival, Nio, jumped more than 40%. Higher demand for its electric vehicles helped the Chinese auto maker post rising quarterly revenue that BEAT? analysts' estimates.