Energy sector gives stocks a boost
Another day of listless trading on Wall Street ended Tuesday with the major stock indexes closing out having shifted marginally from the day before.
Gains in energy and technology companies were canceled out by losses among banks, phone companies and other sectors.
A rebound in crude oil prices helped lift energy stocks, which led the gainers. Banks posted the largest losses.
Investors were making modest moves ahead of Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen’s testimony before Congress on Wednesday and Thursday, and the release of the Fed’s Beige Book, an economic snapshot used by the central bank to gauge U.S. economic trends.
The market will key in on both as it tries to discern how Fed policy on interest rates may play out this year and next, said Sameer Samana, global quantitative strategist for the Wells Fargo Investment Institute.
“Any time you have those types of potentially marketmoving events, especially with policy being such a big focus right now, people are always a little hesitant” to make big market moves, Mr. Samana said.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 1.90 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,425.53. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.55 points to 21,409.07. The Nasdaq composite rose 16.91 points, or 0.3 percent, to 6,193.30. The Russell 2000 index of smallercompany stocks added 4.58 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,413.05.
Energy sector companies led the gainers Tuesday. Devon Energy rose 80 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $30.53. Newfield Exploration added 47 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $26.83.
Financials companies took heavy losses. T. Rowe Price Group slid $1.89, or 2.5 percent, to $75.16. Invesco lost 75 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $35.72.
PepsiCo reported betterthan-expected quarterly results as higher prices for drinks and snacks boosted both profit and revenue for the beverage and packaged foods company. PepsiCo’s sales volumes in North America were soft, however. That appeared to weigh on the company’s shares, which slid 53 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $113.74.
Energy futures closed broadly higher.
The price of oil rebounded after dipping earlier in the day. Benchmark U.S. crude picked up 64 cents, or 1.4 percent, to settle at $45.04 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 64 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $47.52 a barrel in London.