Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in lower Manhattan in, New York, U.S., April 20, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
NEW YORK: Wall Street was lower on Monday as a drop in oil prices, lacklustre quarterly earnings and an impending Federal Reserve meeting weighed on investor sentiment.
The central bank’s policymakers are expected to hold interest rates steady when they meet on Tuesday and Wednesday, but may tweak their description of the economic outlook to reflect more benign conditions.
Oil prices fell about 1% after traders cited reports of a supply buildup, interrupting the stock market’s long bull run. Still, the S&P 500 remained about 2.5% away from its all-time high.
Equities have slowed down in the past sessions as investors look for fresh catalysts to propel the indexes beyond their record highs. Underwhelming earnings and the upcoming Fed meeting have put investors in a risk-off mode.
“We have run into technical resistance now that we’re near the record high,” said Randy Frederick, managing director of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas.
“People are taking some profits and stocks are looking a little bit expensive at the moment, especially since there is no earnings growth.”
At 10:53am ET (1453 GMT) the Dow Jones industrial average was down 133.89 points, or 0.74%, at 17,869.86, the S&P 500 was down 12.8 points, or 0.61%, at 2,078.78 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 23.19 points, or 0.47%, at 4,883.04.
All the 10 major S&P sectors were lower, with the energy index’s 1.48% fall leading the decliners.
Oil majors Exxon and Chevron were down about 1%, weighing the most on the sector.
Investors have been assessing first-quarter earnings, which are expected to decline 7.1%. Of the 132 S&P companies that have reported, 58% have reported revenue above analyst expectations, falling short of the long-term average of 60%, according to Thomson Reuters estimates.
Xerox shares fell 12.8% to US$9.74 after the printer and copier maker reported lower revenue. The stock was on track for its worst day since September 2009.
Tribune Publishing soared 59% to US$11.96 after Gannett offered to buy the owner of the Los Angeles Times. Gannett was up 1.8% at US$16.05.
New US single-family home sales unexpectedly fell in March, but the decline was concentrated in the West. The Commerce Homebuilders D.R. Horton and Toll Brothers were down about 1%.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 2,114 to 736. On the Nasdaq, 1,689 issues fell and 863 advanced.
The S&P 500 index showed 4 new 52-week highs and 1 new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 19 new highs and 13 new lows. - Reuters
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