Mixed up Monday
Blue chips manage gains while oil and mining shares weigh heavily on broader market; techs take a beating.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Stocks ended mixed Monday, as a sharp decline in oil and metals prices weighed on commodity and energy shares. The Dow Jones industrial average (up 36.50 to 11,417.49, Charts) added 0.4 percent while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 (up 3.49 to 1,294.73, Charts) index gained 0.2 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite (down 5.26 to 2,238.52, Charts) fell for the fifth straight session to its lowest close for year.
Markets were mostly reacting to weak commodities prices, according to Tony Dwyer, equity market strategist at FTN Midwest Research. "Heavy cyclical industries are getting hurt," Dwyer said, which is prompting a "wave of selling." Crude oil for June delivery settled down $2.63 at $69.41 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. COMEX gold for June delivery fell $26.80 to $685 an ounce and copper plunged. All three major gauges were lower earlier in the session as investors welcomed falling oil and gold prices, but remained concerned about key reports about inflation at the wholesale and retail levels, due Tuesday and Wednesday. In addition to the Producer Price Index, the wholesale inflation measure, investors will be paying close attention Tuesday to earnings reports from Dow components Home Depot (up $0.42 to $40.42, Research), Hewlett-Packard (down $0.50 to $31.63, Research) and Wal-Mart (up $0.89 to $47.43, Research). On the move
The Dow's biggest loser was aluminum producer Alcoa (down $1.42 to $33.39, Research), which lost nearly 4 percent along with falling metal prices. Shares of gold producer Newmont Mining (down $2.00 to $54.31, Research) fell close to 4 percent as well. Sinking oil prices also dragged down oil producers, including Exxon Mobil (down $0.24 to $62.00, Research), BP (down $1.19 to $73.45, Research), ConocoPhillips (down $1.67 to $63.52, Research) and Chevron (down $0.76 to $60.62, Research). Meanwhile, shares of retail giant Target (down $2.19 to $50.02, Research) tumbled more than 4 percent after the retailer posted a 12 percent increase in quarterly profit, but earnings fell short of Wall Street expectations. The Wall Street Journal reported that Boeing (down $1.21 to $85.80, Research) plans to pay $615 million to settle a Justice Department probe over procurement violations by its defense contracting business, but the Dow component fell more than 1 percent. eBay (down $0.26 to $31.23, Research) edged lower on the Nasdaq after the Supreme Court set aside a patent injunction against the online auctioneer. (Full story.) On the upside, shares of Bausch & Lomb (up $5.64 to $50.08, Research) jumped over 12 percent after the eye-care company said it permanently recalled its contact-lens solution that has been linked to an outbreak of fungal eye infections that can cause blindness. (Full story.) Shares of drugmakers Johnson & Johnson (up $1.07 to $59.90, Research), Pfizer (up $0.39 to $24.89, Research) and Merck (up $0.40 to $34.69, Research) were also higher in afternoon trade, lending support to the Dow. And news that Brookdale Senior Living (up $5.23 to $42.23, Research) will acquire American Retirement (up $7.28 to $32.18, Research) for $1.2 billion sent shares of both companies significantly higher. Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, decliners topped advancers by a margin of three to two on volume of 1.8 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, losers beat winners by nearly two to one as 2 billion shares changed hands. Treasury prices rose, lowering the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 5.15 percent, down from 5.19 percent Friday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. The dollar recovered from earlier lows and rose against the euro and was little changed versus the yen. ---------------------------- For more on the markets, click here. |
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