Stocks slip, snapping S&P 500’s three-day win streak
Energy companies led U.S. stocks slightly lower Monday as the price of crude oil declined, snapping a three-day winning streak for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index.
Phone company and real estate stocks were also among the big decliners. Technology and industrial companies eked out tiny gains.
Investors are continuing to focus on company earnings reports this week as they size up the health of corporate America.
Just over half the companies in the S&P 500 have reported quarterly results so far, and most of those have posted annual earnings growth. But that hasn’t been enough to significantly move the stock market, which remains at near-record highs.
“A lot of this earnings growth we’re seeing now is already priced in,” said David Schiegoleit, managing director at the Private Client Reserve at U.S. Bank. “It would have to extend further in order to push markets higher.”
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 19.04 points, or 0.1%, to 20,052.42. The S&P 500 index slid 4.86 points, or 0.2%, to 2,292.56. The Nasdaq composite index slipped 3.21 points, or 0.1%, to 5,663.55. On Friday the Nasdaq closed at a record high and the S&P 500 came within a point of its own all-time high.
Disappointing results and outlooks from several companies put traders in a selling mood.
Newell Brands slid 5.7% to $44.23 after the maker of Rubbermaid, Sharpie, Elmer’s Glue and other products reported disappointing sales and issued a full-year sales forecast that fell far short of analysts’ estimates. The company said the strong dollar and fewer people shopping at malls hurt sales of some key products.
Sysco fell 2.6% to $51.20 after the food distributor reported better earnings but weaker revenue than expected.
Few companies got a bigger lift from earnings news than Hasbro. The toymaker vaulted 14.1% to $94.31 after it posted fourth-quarter profit and sales that beat Wall Street’s estimates, aided by better sales of toys marketed to girls, including Disney Princess and Frozen products. The stock led all the gainers in the S&P 500. Its rival Mattel also got a lift, rising 10 cents to $25.92.
Tyson Foods fell 3.5% to $63.13 after the company disclosed it has received a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission as part of an antitrust investigation.
News of an executive shake-up at Tiffany & Co. sent shares in the jewelry company down 2.5% to $78.49. Chief Executive Frederic Cumenal stepped down Sunday amid concerns about the company’s financial performance. Tiffany said it had already begun to search for a successor. Michael Kowalski, chairman of the board of directors and previous CEO of Tiffany, was tapped to serve as interim CEO.
Energy futures were broadly lower, weighing on oil and gas companies.
Benchmark U.S. crude fell 82 cents, or 1.5%, to $53.01 a barrel. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell $1.09, or 1.9%, to $55.72 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline fell 4 cents to $1.51 a gallon. Heating oil slid 3 cents to $1.64 a gallon. Natural gas futures fell a penny to $3.05 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Offshore drilling services company Transocean sank 3.1% to $13.54. Devon Energy slid 3.2% to $45.27, and Chesapeake Energy fell 2.9% to $6.38.
Major stock indexes in Europe closed lower Monday. Germany’s DAX fell 1.2%, while France’s CAC 40 slid 1%. Britain’s FTSE 100 edged down 0.2%. Earlier in Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.3%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.0%. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.2%. Benchmarks were also higher in Taiwan and Singapore. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 inched down 0.1%.
Bond prices rose. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 2.42% from Friday’s 2.47%.
The euro fell to $1.0748 from $1.0765. The dollar slipped to 111.83 yen from 112.96 yen.
Gold rose $11.30 to $1,232.10 an ounce. Silver rose 21 cents to $17.69 an ounce. Copper rose 4 cents to $2.65 a pound.
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UPDATES:
2:20 p.m.: This article was updated with closing prices, context and analyst comment.
7:30 a.m.: This article was updated with market prices and context.
This article was originally published at 6:45 a.m.
