Stocks seesaw, eke out late gains

MARLEY JAY

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks remained volatile Monday as the market took a dive in early trading but later erased those losses and ended slightly higher.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost as much as 507 points in early trading before ending with a gain of 34.31.

Energy companies fell as the price of crude oil dropped 3 percent, giving back its gains from last week. Banks fell as investors expected slower increases in interest rates.

Technology companies led the gainers. Qualcomm rose after the chipmaker said a Chinese court had banned some Apple phones as part of a longrunning dispute over patents.

The S&P 500 index gained 4.64 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,637.72. The Dow added 34.31 points, or 0.1 percent, to 24,423.26. Technology companies, which have fallen sharply since October, did better. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 51.27 points, or 0.7 percent, to 7,020.52.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks dipped 4.99 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,443.09.

Weak economic data in China and Japan and uncertainty over Britain’s status in the European Union knocked down overseas markets. The British pound dropped to its lowest level in more than 18 months after Prime Minister Theresa May postponed a vote on the country’s departure from the EU.

U.S. indexes have been lurching up and down since October but have mostly been down. The S&P 500 plunged 4.6 percent last week, its biggest loss in more than eight months, as investors felt the U.S. and China are still nowhere close to ending their trade dispute.

Tensions between the U.S. and China have grown further after the detention of Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou. Meng is suspected of trying to evade U.S. trade restrictions on Iran. She was detained while changing planes in Canada.

Volatility has been high not only week to week but also minute to minute. The S&P 500 zoomed from a gain of 0.2 percent to a loss of 1.8 percent Monday morning.

Technology companies ended higher. Microsoft climbed 2.6 percent to $107.59, and Qualcomm added 2.2 percent to $57.24. Broadcom jumped 4.7 percent to $239.25.

Crude oil resumed a steep decline that began in early October. Benchmark U.S. crude fell 3.1 percent to $51 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 2.8 percent to $59.97 a barrel in London.

Prices steadied last week after OPEC and other major oil producers said they will reduce production by 1.2 million barrels a day starting in January. The cuts will last for six months.

Energy stocks dipped Monday, with Exxon Mobil lost 1.4 percent to $76.54 and Schlumberger shedding 2.5 percent to $41.97.

Bond prices ended slightly lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped early on but later rose to 2.86 percent from 2.85 percent late Friday. The 10-year yield spiked to a sevenyear high in early November and has fallen sharply since then.

Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist for Invesco, said stocks bounced back from their early losses because Wall Street thinks the Federal Reserve might react to the trade turmoil by raising interest rates at a slower pace.

“There are certainly some bargain hunters at work today, but more than that is the growing recognition that we could see the Fed take its foot off the accelerator,” she said. “That could be a source of momentum, a positive force for markets.”

Lower interest rates harm banks, however, because they reduce profits from lending. Bank of America sank 2.6 percent to $24.76, and JPMorgan Chase lost 1.9 percent to $101.36.