- Title: Dow, S&P 500 end down, weighed by energy, financials
- Date: 9th January 2017
- Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (JANUARY 9, 2017) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) RUSSELL INVESTMENTS CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST, STEPHEN WOOD, SAYING: "The fundamentals look okay; we just think that there has been a lot of movement in the market very quickly. Valuations, or the price of the market, is getting somewhat problematic. So over the course of one, two, three quarters of being expensive we just think that valuations are beginning to drag this into more of a sideways chop."
- Embargoed: 24th January 2017 21:16
- Keywords: Stephen Wood markets trading NYSE Dow bell Nasdaq Trump economy
- Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- City: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Economic Events,Equities Markets
- Reuters ID: LVA0025YD1J7X
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Declines in energy and financial stocks weighed on the S&P 500 on Monday (January 9th) and stalled the Dow's pursuit of the 20,000 milestone ahead of earnings season, while the Nasdaq hit a record intraday high.
The S&P's energy sector dropped 1.4 percent as oil prices slid on concerns that rising Iraqi exports and U.S. output could dampen the impact of a deal among major producers to limit output.
Investors were taking a breather ahead of the fourth-quarter earnings season and the next U.S. President's administration. The S&P 500 benchmark has risen more than 6 percent since the Nov. 8 election of Donald Trump who has promised tax cuts, lighter regulation and fiscal stimulus.
The financial sector was down 0.6 percent on Monday. Big banks will provide the first peek into how U.S. companies fared in the fourth quarter later this week. S&P 500 companies overall are expected to post a 5.8 percent increase in profit in the quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Two-thirds of the 30 Dow components were lower, keeping the psychologically significant 20,000 mark at bay. International Business Machine's 0.9 percent drop was the Dow's biggest drag. Exxon Mobil's 1.7 percent decline and a 1.2 percent drop in Chevron were also big weights.
The Dow came tantalizingly close to the milestone on Friday, hitting a peak of 19,999.63, as the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also touched records after a late pop in tech stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 76.42 points, or 0.38 percent, to 19,887.38, the S&P 500 had lost 8.08 points, or 0.354856 percent, to 2,268.9 and the Nasdaq Composite had added 10.76 points, or 0.19 percent, to 5,531.82.
Eight of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were lower.
The S&P's health sector was the biggest gainer helped by a string of multi-billion dollar deals.
Nasdaq was boosted most by healthcare stocks, led by Incyte's 19.9 percent jump after it announced advancements in its cancer drug program.
The consumer staples sector was down 0.6 percent with P&G and Coca-Cola among the biggest drags after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stocks to "sell."
Pet hospital operator VCA jumped 28 percent after agreeing to a $7.7 billion buyout offer from candy and pet foods maker Mars Inc. Ariad Pharma surged nearly 73 percent on a $5.20 billion buyout deal with Japan's Takeda.
Surgical Care Affiliates jumped 16 percent on a deal to be bought by UnitedHealth for about $2.30 billion. Dow component UnitedHealth dipped 0.3 percent.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.55-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.37-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 5 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 53 new highs and 15 new lows. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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