Texarkana Gazette

FINANCIAL MARKETS

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NEW YORK—A seven-day winning streak for stocks came to a quiet end Tuesday as banks, especially smaller ones, dropped along with bond yields and interest rates. Energy companies also sank. Investors snapped up government bonds and high-yield stocks including phone companies and utilities. As bond prices rose, yields and interest rates fell. That reduced the profits financial institutio­ns can make from mortgages and other types of loans. Energy companies fell to their lowest prices in a year.

Still, stocks remain close to their record highs. JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist for TD Ameritrade, said he thinks stocks will stay at high levels until more details about the Trump administra­tion’s tax proposals become public. However Kinahan said he thinks it’s likely Wall Street will be disappoint­ed with any tax cut package that does pass, since the administra­tion’s proposals will likely be scaled back in Congress. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 2.91 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,412.91. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 50.81 points, or 0.2 percent, to 21,029.47. The Nasdaq composite dipped 7 points, or 0.1 percent, to 6,203.19. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks tumbled 11.05 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,371.19. Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.21 percent from 2.25 percent late Friday. With interest rates falling, JPMorgan Chase declined $1.46, or 1.7 percent, to $83.90. Smaller banks fell harder, as Hope Bancorp dropped 67 cents, or 3.7 percent, to $17.48 and First Financial Bancorp sank 75 cents, or 2.9 percent to $25.05. Oil prices recovered from an early stumble and finished only slightly lower, but energy companies continued to fall. Hess dropped $1.47, or 3.1 percent, to $46.67 and Schlumberg­er shed 85 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $68.74. The S&P 500 index of energy companies reached its lowest level in a year. Benchmark U.S. crude lost 14 cents to $49.66 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the internatio­nal standard, fell 45 cents to $51.84 a barrel in London. Offshore drilling contractor Atwood Oceanics jumped after it agreed to be bought by Ensco PLC for $10.72 a share in stock, or $863 million. Atwood rose $1.96, or 24.3 percent, to $10.04 while U.K.-based Ensco lost 34 cents, or 5.1 percent, to $6.36. In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline remained at $1.64 a gallon. Heating oil dipped 1 cent to $1.55 a gallon. Natural gas tumbled 17 cents, or 5 percent, to $3.15 per 1,000 cubic feet.

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