US open: Monsanto jumps on bid speculation

Wall Street slipped lower after an initial feint higher as crude oil futures changed course and headed lower, with traders also waiting on speeches from several Federal Reserve policy-makers for hints on interest rates.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 38.39 points to 17,672.73, the S&P 500 was 6.02 points lower to 2,058.44 and the Nasdaq Composite was off by 35.78 points or 0.75% at 4,724.91.

Oil prices were lower despite the International Energy Agency's decision on Thursday morning to cut its projection for the size of global oil supply glut in 2016.

At 1638 BST West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were down by 1.248% to $45.66 per barrel.

Adressing an audience, the president of the Federal Reserve bank of Cleveland, Loretta Mester, said inflation expectations had been stable over recent years and she was cautious about inferring their level from market-based measures.

Fed officials Eric Rosengren and Esther George were next on the agenda later in Thursday’s session. Economists would be listening for clues on the Fed’s plans for policy ahead of the interest rate decision in June.

George was to discuss the economy at 1830 BST.

“The Fed has continued to state that a rate hike could happen at the meeting but as of yet, the markets are not buying it and if that doesn’t change, a rate hike is extremely unlikely,” said Craig Erlam, chief market analyst at Oanda.

Potentially adding to the argument to leave interest rates unchanged next month, the Labor Department revealed US weekly jobless claims unexpectedly rose in the latest week. Initial jobless claims climbed to 294,000 in the week to 7 May from 274,000 the previous week, compared to forecasts of 270,000.

On the corporate front, Jack in the Box Inc. gained after the fast-food chain late on Wednesday reported second quarter earnings that exceeded forecasts.

Shares of Monsanto Co. rallied jumped amid speculation that German chemicals firms Bayer and BASF were considering a takeover of the agriculture company.

Linn Energy may move after shares plunged more than 50% after the close on Wednesday as the energy and production company said it had filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to implement a debt restructuring.

S&P 500 - Risers
Monsanto Co. (MON) $98.70 +9.25%
CA Inc. (CA) $31.58 +5.41%
Sealed Air Corp. (SEE) $47.83 +2.56%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $80.74 +2.16%
Newfield Exploration Co (NFX) $38.29 +1.78%
ONEOK Inc. (OKE) $40.75 +1.70%
FMC Corp. (FMC) $47.79 +1.69%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $57.92 +1.60%
Carnival Corp. (CCL) $51.07 +1.57%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $74.52 +1.55%

S&P 500 - Fallers
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $35.41 -8.49%
Csra Inc. (CSRA) $24.32 -3.42%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $15.96 -3.39%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $87.09 -3.25%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $18.12 -2.48%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $38.70 -2.37%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $63.21 -2.14%
Owens-Illinois Inc. (OI) $19.05 -1.91%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $82.05 -1.89%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $90.78 -1.87%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Nike Inc. (NKE) $57.92 +1.60%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $65.29 +1.52%
Boeing Co. (BA) $134.37 +1.03%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $67.00 +0.89%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $101.95 +0.80%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $89.41 +0.68%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $51.37 +0.63%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $82.64 +0.60%
Visa Inc. (V) $77.68 +0.49%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $129.76 +0.48%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $90.78 -1.87%
General Electric Co. (GE) $30.10 -0.77%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $33.00 -0.48%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $54.07 -0.44%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $26.58 -0.43%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $113.90 -0.41%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $72.21 -0.30%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $148.59 -0.24%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $130.47 -0.17%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $159.39 -0.02%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
CA Inc. (CA) $31.58 +5.41%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $80.74 +2.16%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $74.52 +1.55%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $32.96 +1.34%
Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $51.37 +1.28%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $86.09 +1.04%
Priceline Group Inc (PCLN) $1,279.33 +0.95%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $81.90 +0.85%
Stericycle Inc. (SRCL) $95.30 +0.84%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $37.42 +0.84%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $87.09 -3.25%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $79.99 -2.72%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $38.70 -2.37%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $63.21 -2.14%
Nxp Semiconductors Nv (NXPI) $83.86 -2.03%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $69.21 -2.00%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $82.05 -1.89%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $90.78 -1.87%
Broadcom Limited (AVGO) $141.26 -1.80%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $262.63 -1.73%