US close: Stocks end little changed amid weak oil prices
US stocks ended little changed on Monday amid declining oil prices, as investors mulled over hawkish remarks from Federal Reserve policymakers ahead of a speech by chair Janet Yellen later this week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 closed down 0.1%, while the Nasdaq eked out a 0.1% gain.
Meanwhile, oil prices settled sharply lower following seven straight sessions of gains amid news that Iraq – OPEC’s second-biggest oil producer – will boost its oil exports by 5%. A stronger dollar and a jump in the Baker Hughes US oil-rig count also weighed on prices.
West Texas Intermediate crude was down 3% at $47.05 per barrel and Brent crude was off 3.4% at $49.16.
Joshua Mahony, market analyst at IG, said: “Much of the week will likely be gearing up for the main event, which comes in the form of the annual Jackson Hole meeting, hosted by the Kansas Fed. Crucially, Friday will see Janet Yellen take the same stand upon which Ben Bernanke announced quantitative easing back in 2012, with markets hoping for another game changing nugget on Friday.
“The recent deterioration in the greenback means that many are looking for a dollar bounce back, which coupled with the speculation of Friday’s meeting, means that dollar volatility is likely to be heightened this week.”
Oanda’s Craig Erlam said Yellen’s speech would be a great opportunity to send a clear and concise message to investors.
“The markets currently have March priced in for the next rate hike and if Yellen is seriously determined to move earlier, she must take advantage of Friday’s opportunity to drive that message home,” he said.
Her speech at the Jackson Hole symposium on Friday will follow hawkish comments from several Federal Reserve officials last week. On Sunday, Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer gave an upbeat assessment of the US economy, which was seen to suggest an interest rate hike was possible this year. His statement pushed the dollar higher.
Corporate news was thin on the ground, but biotech firm Medivation surged after agreeing to be bought by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer for about $14bn. Pfizer ended the day a touch weaker.
S&P 500 - Risers
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $418.61 +3.54%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $136.53 +3.33%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $100.96 +3.01%
CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $23.69 +2.91%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $20.95 +2.80%
Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) $31.01 +2.41%
Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL) $39.51 +2.20%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $33.55 +2.07%
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $396.04 +1.94%
Vulcan Materials Co. (VMC) $118.91 +1.89%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $15.64 -6.90%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $41.74 -4.02%
Halliburton Co. (HAL) $45.08 -3.78%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $10.10 -3.72%
ONEOK Inc. (OKE) $48.07 -3.30%
Murphy Oil Corp. (MUR) $29.07 -3.29%
Newfield Exploration Co (NFX) $45.04 -2.93%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $62.58 -2.58%
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $19.28 -2.58%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $44.26 -2.55%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Visa Inc. (V) $81.06 +0.73%
Boeing Co. (BA) $134.99 +0.41%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $30.63 +0.36%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $115.42 +0.36%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $35.36 +0.34%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $63.55 +0.30%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $69.95 +0.24%
General Electric Co. (GE) $31.32 +0.22%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $87.99 +0.22%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $52.55 +0.19%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $108.51 -0.78%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $119.13 -0.66%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $108.50 -0.59%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $95.87 -0.54%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $86.85 -0.53%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $116.95 -0.44%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $43.74 -0.41%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $58.66 -0.41%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $34.84 -0.40%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $101.94 -0.37%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $81.98 +7.71%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $98.17 +6.72%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $418.61 +3.54%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $136.53 +3.33%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $100.96 +3.01%
Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) $31.01 +2.41%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $33.55 +2.07%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $114.20 +1.82%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $55.85 +1.66%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $173.75 +1.21%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $41.74 -4.02%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $173.85 -2.07%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $29.15 -1.65%
Liberty Media Corporation - Series C (LMCK) $21.44 -1.61%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $47.90 -1.56%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $31.87 -1.42%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $270.70 -1.40%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. - Ordinary Shares (NCLH) $37.68 -1.39%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $36.00 -1.34%
Liberty Media Corporation - Class A (LMCA) $21.73 -1.27%