April 29, 2024

Stocks Retreat on Concern About Industrial Slowdown

Crude oil and Brent futures rose after Goldman Sachs raised its forecast for oil, citing growh in demand for fuel.

The energy sector, which was one of the weakest Monday because of anxiety about Europe’s debt crisis, led the day’s gainers, while industrials pushed the market down for a second day.

Financial stocks also pressured the market.

“There isn’t much for the market to get excited at this point, especially going into summer months and the QE coming to an end soon,” said Randy Frederick, director of trading and derivatives at the Schwab Center for Financial Research in Austin, Tex.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 12.86 points, or 0.10 percent, at 12,368.40. The Standard Poor’s 500-stock index was down 1.43 points, or 0.11 percent, at 1,315.94. The Nasdaq composite index was down 10.06 points, or 0.36 percent, at 2,748.84.

Stocks closed on Monday at their lowest level in a month.

Following weaker-than-expected New York and Philadelphia Fed manufacturing surveys last week, the Richmond region reported on Tuesday an outright contraction as its index fell, the first negative reading since September, according to Peter Boockvar, equity Strategist at Miller Tabak + Company in New York.

“The Richmond survey is never market moving as it’s not widely followed. But it’s another piece in the anecdotal puzzle of the moderation seen in manufacturing in May, with the obvious hope that it’s just a mid-cycle misstep before the next acceleration,” he said.

Occidental Petroleum rose 3.4 percent to $102.33.

On the Nasdaq, shares of the Russian Internet company Yandex NV surged as much as 68 percent in their debut.

Yandex raised $1.3 billion in its Initial public offering on Monday by selling 52.2 million shares for $25 each. The offering valued the overall company at about $8 billion.

By midday, Yandex shares were up 41.4 percent at $35.35.

The United States Treasury is expected to sell 15 percent of its stake in the American International Group when the insurer prices its stock offering after the market closes. A.I.G. was down 1.2 percent at $29.63.

Data showed new single-family home sales in the United States rose unexpectedly in April to notch their second straight month of gains, but analysts said home builders still have a bumpy ride ahead.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=a0a149c83a50971ad55dc3eb3a8488f8

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