US close: Stocks touch weaker as investors pause for breath; oil drops
US stocks ended a touch weaker on Monday as investors paused for breath after indices hit record highs last week, with oil prices under the cosh.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 0.1% at 21,184.04, the S&P 500 fell 0.1% to 2,436.10 and the Nasdaq closed off 0.2% at 6,295.68.
Labour productivity in the States was unchanged in the first quarter of 2017 in quarterly annualised terms, revised data from the Department of Labour revealed. That was better than an initially estimated drop of 0.6%.
As a result, unit labour costs advanced by 2.2%, instead of the 3.0% gain initially thought and versus consensus of 2.5%.
Elsewhere, data from the Institute of Supply Management showed economic activity in the non-manufacturing sector grew in May for the 89th consecutive month.
The non-manufacturing index reached 56.9 for the month, falling slightly short of expectations for a reading of 57.0.
Oil prices were in the red, reversing course after gaining earlier in the session on news that Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain have cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, citing concerns about its terrorist links. West Texas Intermediate was down 0.6% to $47.39 a barrel and Brent crude was off 1% to $49.44.
Investors in the US were looking across the pond after a terror attack in London at the weekend left seven people dead and dozens injured. In addition, the UK general election on Thursday was also likely to be on investors' minds.
On Thursday, former FBI head James Comey, who was fired by Donald Trump last month, will testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Russia’s role in the US presidential election.
London Capital Group analyst Jasper Lawler said: “Comey’s memo was responsible for the last spark of volatility in markets so his testimony is one to watch.”
Market participants will also be eyeing a European Central Bank meeting later this week.
In corporate news, Celsion rocketed after reporting promising findings for an early-stage trial for its ovarian cancer treatment, while Gigamon surged following a report it’s exploring a sale.
DexCM racked up healthy gains as Apple chief executive Tim Cook said the Apple Watch will connect better to devices that makes.
TG Therapeutics tumbled despite reporting positive results in a late stage clinical trial for its TG-1101 in combination with AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson's Imbruvica, while Herbalife slumped after cutting its sale outlook.
Blackstone Group slipped as it offered $1.98bn for Finnish real estate investor Sponda and technology giant Apple was in the red after Pacific Crest downgraded its stance on the stock to ‘sector weight’ from ‘overweight’.