Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Stocks totter on investor wariness

- MARLEY JAY

NEW YORK — Stocks wobbled Thursday as investors changed course and tempered their expectatio­ns for faster economic growth. Industrial companies, which have surged over the past few months, finished lower as Wall Street focused on gold, bonds, and companies that pay big dividends.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 34.72 points, or 0.2 percent, to 20,810.32. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 0.99 point to 2,363.81. The Nasdaq composite lost 25.12 points, or 0.4 percent, to 5,835.51. The Russell 2000 index of smallercom­pany stocks slid 9.23 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,394.62.

Shares of constructi­on equipment, transporta­tion and metals companies skidded and small- company stocks, which are more sensitive to changes in economic growth, also slumped. Technology companies fell for the first time in February. The biggest gains went to utilities, real estate investment trusts, and other companies that pay hefty dividends.

Industrial companies have made big gains since November as investors expect President Donald Trump’s administra­tion and the Republican Congress to ramp up spending on infrastruc­ture.

An infrastruc­ture spending bill is one of the administra­tion’s proposals for speeding up economic growth, along with tax cuts and reduced regulation­s. But Jeff Kravetz, regional investment strategist at U. S. Bank Wealth Management, said it might take a while before any bills are introduced or become law.

“They’re all positive initiative­s for the economy but to get any of these done is not something we can get done in a few months,” he said. “We may have gotten ahead of ourselves with a lot of these initiative­s.”

Shares of industrial companies declined for the second day in a row, and took some of their biggest losses since the presidenti­al election. Shares of constructi­on equipment maker Caterpilla­r fell $ 2.65, or 2.7 percent, to $ 95.55, its biggest loss since September. United Rentals shed $ 7.16, or 5.6 percent, to $ 120.90.

The price of copper fell 3.3 percent to $ 2.64 a pound, its biggest one- day decline in more than a year. Copper is used in numerous constructi­on projects, so its price has jumped recently. Companies that make basic materials also fell, and U. S. Steel lost $ 3.18, or 7.9 percent, to $ 37.31.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10- year Treasury note fell to 2.37 percent from 2.42 percent.

That helped companies that pay big dividends, like utilities, real estate investment trusts and phone companies. Electricit­y company FirstEnerg­y picked up 60 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $ 31.39. Realty Income, which owns properties used by retailers like drugstores and discount stores, gained $ 1.72, or 2.8 percent, to $ 62.86.

In another sign investors were seeking some refuge, gold jumped $ 18.10, or 1.5 percent, to $ 1,251.40 an ounce and silver rose 17 cents to $ 18.12 an ounce.

Benchmark U. S. crude oil futures rebounded, rising 86 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $ 54.45 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the standard for pricing internatio­nal oils, rose 61 cents to $ 56.58 a barrel in London.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States