Wall Street slides after Saudi attacks; energy stocks surge
Trump authorizes use of American emergency oil stockpile to ensure stable supplies
use of the country’s emergency oil stockpile to ensure stable supplies. The S&P 500 Energy, one of the worst performing sectors this year, soared 3.18 percent, its best day since Jan. 4.
At least 14 of the top advancers on the S&P 500 were energy stocks. Shares of Marathon Oil Corp. and Devon Energy Corp. rose more than 8 percent each and led the gains.
The supply disruptions should put a bid into US energy stocks, which have meaningfully lagged the broader market, JPM analysts wrote in a note.
“In particular, we could see a
DISTRUPTIONS
positive move in the oily small and mid-cap group.”
Meanwhile, anticipation of higher fuel costs drove down shares of airlines and cruise line operators. American Airlines Group Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc. and Carnival Corp. fell between 2 percent and 5 percent.
Ten of the major S&P sectors were lower, with technology shares weighing the most. Investors’ flight to safety pulled the US benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yields down from their multi-week highs, sending the interest-rate sensitive bank subsector down about 1 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 104.17 points, or 0.38 percent, at 27,115.35, the S&P 500 was down 9.48 points, or 0.32 percent, at 2,997.91. The Nasdaq Composite was down 28.40 points, or 0.35 percent, at 8,148.32.
This week’s centerpiece is the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision on Wednesday where the central bank is widely expected to deliver the second interest rate cut this year of a quarter basis points. Hints on whether the central bank will keep easing its monetary policy will be crucial in determining how long Wall Street’s strong rally will last. Cooling trade tensions between the US and China last week has brought the benchmark S&P 500 about 1 percent below its record high.
Among other movers, General Motors Co. fell 2.7 percent after the United Auto Workers (UAW) went on strike on Sunday, the first nationwide strike at GM in 12 years. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.11-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.23-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded two new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 12 new highs and eight new lows.