Stocks nearly flat in calm session
U.S. stocks were nearly flat Monday, as the Standard & Poor’s 500 index steadied following back-toback losses the last two weeks.
This week may be a calmer one for the stock market, after a bumpy stretch shook what had been an incredibly smooth ride higher for stocks this year. Few market-moving events are on the calendar this week. The highlight probably will arrive when central bankers from around the world gather in Jackson Hole, Wyo., starting Thursday.
Monday’s modest moves were a return to form for the market. This year has had only four days when the S&P 500 has dropped more than 1%, which is well below the typical number in recent decades. But half those instances occurred in the last two weeks, stoked by worries about discord in Washington and the potential for war.
“One of the reasons the market has held in and performed well recently — although it’s wobbled a bit in the last two weeks — has been earnings,” said Ernie Cecilia, chief investment officer at Bryn Mawr Trust.
Companies are mostly done reporting results for the spring quarter, and their growth in profits was stronger than expected. They also reported higher revenues.
Mining firms helped to lead the market Monday after prices for metals and other commodities rose. Freeport-McMoRan had the biggest gain in the S&P 500, up 4.1% to $14.73. Newmont Mining rose 2.2% to $36.61.
Gold rose $5.10 to $1,296.70 an ounce. Silver rose 2 cents to $17.02 an ounce. Copper rose 4 cents to $2.98 a pound.
Investors snapped up dividend-paying stocks as bond yields fell. Real estate investment trusts were the best-performing sector of the S&P 500.
Herbalife jumped 9.5% to $68.04 after the nutritional supplement firm said that it was in talks to be acquired and taken private, but that those negotiations ended last week — and that in response to those talks, it is offering to buy back $600 million worth of its shares.
On the losing side of the U.S. stock market, again, were athletic-gear companies. Foot Locker sank 7.4% to $31.82, the biggest loss in the S&P 500. Shares had tumbled across the industry Friday after Foot Locker and Hibbett Sports said revenue fell last quarter.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.17% from 2.20%.
The dollar fell to 108.85 yen from 109.26 yen. The euro rose to $1.1813 from $1.1760.
Benchmark U.S. crude fell $1.14 to settle at $47.37 a barrel. Brent crude fell $1.06 to $51.66 a barrel. Natural gas rose 7 cents $2.96 per 1,000 cubic feet, heating oil fell 5 cents to $1.57 a gallon and wholesale gasoline fell 4 cents to $1.58 a gallon.