Wall Street cedes ground as oil decline deepens
Reuters
Published Dec 28, 2015 05:46PM ET
Wall Street cedes ground as oil decline deepens
By Noel Randewich
(Reuters) - Wall Street fell on Monday, hurt by a steep drop in oil prices as well as a dip in Apple shares, pushing the S&P 500 back into negative territory for 2015.
The S&P 500 energy sector <.SPNY> lost 1.79 percent, easily the poorest performer as a 3 percent drop in oil prices led investors to unload shares of Exxon Mobil (N:XOM), down 0.73 percent, and Chevron (N:CVX), which fell 1.84 percent. [O/R]
U.S. stock indexes have closely tracked crude prices in the past several weeks.
Following the U.S. Federal Reserve's first rate hike in almost a decade this month, the S&P 500 is marginally lower for the year and the Dow Jones industrial average is almost 2 percent weaker, disappointing investors hoping for a last-minute rally.
"The interest rate issue has been settled and markets have incorporated Fed action. But you have energy and tax loss harvesting moving markets back and forth in these last few weeks," said Tim Courtney, chief investment officer at Exencial Wealth Advisors, which oversees $1.4 billion in assets.
The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI) ended down 0.14 percent at 17,528.47 and the S&P 500 (SPX) lost 0.22 percent to 2,056.51. The Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) fell 0.15 percent to 5,040.99.
Apple (O:AAPL) lost 1.12 percent and was the biggest drag on the S&P and Nasdaq. The company's stock has lost 9 percent in the past month with investors worried that annual iPhone sales could decline for the first time in 2016.
Six out of 10 S&P sectors were lower, with consumer discretionary <.SPLRCD> up 0.26 percent and leading gainers thanks to a 1.87 percent rise in Amazon.com (O:AMZN).
Trading volumes are expected be subdued through the week, which is likely to exacerbate volatility.
Valeant (N:VRX) fell 10.48 percent after the Canadian drugmaker said Chief Executive Michael Pearson (L:PSON) was going on medical leave.
Fitbit (N:FIT) rose 3.29 percent after reports that the wearable gadget maker's iOS app was the most downloaded after Christmas, suggesting strong holiday demand.
Dow component Walt Disney (N:DIS) gained 1.31 percent after the company's latest Star Wars installment topped $1 billion in ticket sales.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 1,924 to 1,172. On the Nasdaq, 1,850 issues fell and 1,011 rose.
Get The News You Want
The S&P 500 index showed four new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 41 new highs and 44 new lows.
Volume on the U.S. exchanges was 4.9 billion shares, compared to a 7.4 billion average over the last 20 trading days, according to Thomson Reuters data.
(This story has been corrected to add the word "in" in the lead paragraph.)
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.