Stocks end flat; oil price plunges

prices and energy companies plunged Thursday, but other stocks didn’t move much as investors waited for more signs about the state of the economy.

Household goods makers and healthcare companies rose after some solid company earnings reports. Most other parts of the market made little gains, but energy companies sank as the price of crude oil fell almost 5% — its biggest one-day loss in about two months.

Kate Warne, an investment strategist for Edward Jones, said oil prices have slipped recently because of an accumulation of concerns about rising energy production in the U.S. and slower economic growth in both the U.S. and China.

Healthcare stocks didn’t react much to the passage in the House of Representatives of a bill intended to roll back much of former President Obama’s signature healthcare law. The bill now heads to the Senate, where its fate is less certain.

U.S. benchmark crude futures sank 4.8% to $45.52 a barrel. Brent crude, the standard for international oils, slid 4.7% to $48.38 a barrel. Oil has fallen to its lowest price since November as investors wonder if the OPEC cartel will extend an agreement to cut production and support prices. OPEC nations will discuss that deal this month.

Exxon Mobil fell 1.3% to $81.64. EOG Resources slid 3.4% to $88.60. Chesapeake Energy tumbled 7.4% to $5.13.

Church & Dwight, which makes Arm & Hammer baking soda, Trojan condoms and OxiClean cleaners, rose 4.3% to $50.85 after it posted first-quarter results that beat expectations and raised its profit estimate.

Kellogg, the maker of Frosted Flakes and Pop Tarts, rose 2.1% to $70.40 after it posted a larger profit than expected.

Fitbit leaped 12.2% to $6.37 after the maker of wearable fitness trackers reOil ported stronger first-quarter results than expected.

Square climbed 8.9% to $19.90 after the mobile payments company posted quarterly results that beat expectations.

Tesla sank 5% to $295.46 after the maker of electric cars reported a deepening loss for the first quarter.

Bond prices dropped. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.35% from 2.32%. That helped bank stocks.

Telecom firms slumped after Level 3 Communications and CenturyLink both issued disappointing firstquarter results. Level 3 stock declined 4.3% to $57.81. CenturyLink slid 6.6% to $23.74.

Wholesale gasoline fell 3.4% to $1.48 a gallon. Heating oil fell 4.2% to $1.41 a gallon. Natural gas fell 1.2% to $3.19 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Precious metals prices dropped. Gold sank 1.6% to $1,228.60 an ounce. Silver fell 1.5% to $16.30 an ounce. Copper fell 1.3% to $2.51 a pound.

The dollar fell to 112.42 yen from 112.64 yen. The euro rose to $1.0981 from $1.0906.