Banks lead stock slide, extend market’s losing streak

Banks led a broad slide in U.S. stocks Monday as an early rally faded, giving the benchmark S&P 500 index its fourth straight loss.

Health care and energy stocks also helped pull the market lower, outweighing gains by technology and consumer-focused stocks. Crude oil prices eked out a small gain after spending most of the day in the red.

The latest losses came as traders geared up for a busy week of company earnings reports that should help answer how Corporate America is coping with rising interest rates, inflation and the impact of global trade disputes.

“The earnings results have the potential to stabilize the market, but what investors are really keen on hearing from companies is what the sustainability of the earnings outlook is, especially in light of the concerns of the potential impact from tariffs,” said Laura Kane, head of Investment Themes Americas at UBS Wealth Management Research.

The S&P 500 fell 11.90 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,755.88. The index is on course for its worst month in more than three years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 126.93 points, or 0.5 percent, to 25,317.41. The tech-heavy Nasdaq recovered from an early tumble, gaining 19.60 points, or 0.3 percent, to 7,468.63.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks gave up 2.54 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,539.50. That’s the lowest close for the index since April. It’s now up just 0.3 percent for the year.

Decliners outnumbered gainers on the New York Stock Exchange.

Major U.S. stock indexes initially headed higher early Monday, riding a strong wave of buying in Chinese markets as traders brushed off potential concerns about slower growth in the world’s second-biggest economy and a downgrade in Italy’s credit rating.

That early rally vanished after a few minutes, however, as trading turned volatile. At its extremes, the Dow swung from a gain of more than 100 points to a loss of more than 200.

“In this pullback, the defensive sectors have held in there better than these more cyclical sectors,” said Scott Wren, senior global equity strategist at Wells