US close: Oil prices undo positive sentiment from Chinese data

After a strong start to the day, US stocks closed relatively flat after another drop in oil prices undid any positive sentiment from hopes of further stimulus measures in China

The Dow closed up 0.17% while the Nasdaq fell 0.26% and the S&P 500 rose just 0.05%.

Oil prices fell to new lows, with WTI Crude dropping -3.74% to $28.32, while Brent recovered marginally, up 0.74% to $28.76.

It followed an International Energy Agency report that noted prospects for the market balancing out in 2016 appear to be grim.

In its latest assessment of the market, the IEA said demand growth could be in the region of 1.2m barrels per day in 2016; which was close to OPEC’s view of 1.26m bpd, and US Energy Information Administration’s prediction of 1.4 mn bpd.

Meanwhile, Iran is expected to raise its exports by 500,000 bpd within the first few months of the sanctions being lifted.

It undid the gains the start of the day after hopes of further stimulus measures in China followed an unexpected slowdown in economic growth in the fourth quarter.

China’s gross domestic product rose 6.8% in the fourth quarter compared to the same period a year ago, weakening from the previous quarter’s 6.9%. Analysts had expected GDP to remain unchanged from the third quarter, while the government is targeting 7% growth.

“On this occasion, I think the markets may have been relieved that the numbers were not as bad as they could have been, given the challenges facing the economy during this period of transition and slowing global growth,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda.

“There is also the fact that there is still plenty of scope for fiscal and monetary stimulus to plug any gaps that appear in the coming years during this period of transition, which occurs at a time when the country is also trying to liberalise its markets, something that has faced many challenges already and will likely continue to do so this year.”

In the US, sentiment among US housebuilders remained steady in January, but analysts still expected the sector to pick in coming months.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index was unchanged at 60 from a downwardly-revised December reading.

This was a touch below economists’ expectations for a reading of 61 but still comfortably above the 50 threshold that indicates improvement.

Pantheon Macroeconomics said: “We are surprised to see a 2-point dip in the buyer traffic component, given the much milder-than-usual weather across much of the country over the past month.”

Among corporate stocks, Morgan Stanley closed up 1.16% after it revealed it swung to a profit in the fourth quarter. It followed the company’s steps to restructure its struggling Fixed Income business.

Bank of America’s share price closed down 1.52% despite posting better-than-expected earnings for the three months to the end of December, as expenses fell.

And with Twitter down for over two hours on Tuesday morning, the social media company’s share price was also down by 7.02%.

S&P 500 - Risers
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $41.72 +4.69%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $7.21 +4.64%
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $24.01 +4.03%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $107.89 +3.70%
Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $45.95 +3.26%
CONSOL Energy Inc. (CNX) $5.15 +3.21%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $112.58 +3.03%
Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $45.44 +2.92%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $41.70 +2.91%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $41.46 +2.85%

S&P 500 - Fallers
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $3.08 -13.48%
Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) $3.47 -11.70%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $3.96 -8.97%
Ensco Plc. (ESV) $9.42 -8.54%
Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) $16.31 -7.85%
ConocoPhillips (COP) $36.40 -7.52%
Newfield Exploration Co (NFX) $24.37 -7.09%
Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) $25.82 -6.55%
Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $20.45 -6.41%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $9.29 -5.78%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $112.58 +3.03%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $76.73 +2.33%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $117.50 +2.01%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $58.32 +1.32%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $62.56 +1.02%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $41.92 +1.01%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $44.87 +0.99%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $23.85 +0.97%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $156.82 +0.78%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $105.76 +0.63%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $81.51 -2.58%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $53.22 -1.61%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $76.40 -1.52%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $128.11 -1.48%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $59.03 -1.40%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $50.56 -0.84%
Visa Inc. (V) $71.39 -0.61%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $96.66 -0.48%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $85.24 -0.46%
American Express Co. (AXP) $62.64 -0.43%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $41.72 +4.69%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $107.89 +3.70%
Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $45.44 +2.92%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $41.46 +2.85%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $144.76 +2.57%
Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $83.46 +2.42%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $16.45 +2.30%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $76.89 +2.11%
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $59.94 +2.10%
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) $29.74 +2.06%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $73.31 -4.73%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $79.51 -4.37%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $47.59 -3.66%
NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $21.45 -3.60%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $19.03 -3.55%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $447.02 -3.44%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $29.83 -3.43%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $24.87 -3.19%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $94.99 -2.98%
Express Scripts Holding Co (ESRX) $72.38 -2.96%