While you were sleeping: UPDATED US stocks end mixed as oil falls
The S&P 500 notched its 31st consecutive session without a move of 1% or more in either direction, the longest such stretch in two years.
The S&P 500 notched its 31st consecutive session without a move of 1% or more in either direction, the longest such stretch in two years.
The latest hawkish comments from a US Federal Reserve official weighed on equities and lifted the greenback as investors try to gauge the timing of a US interest rate increase.
Lower oil prices also pushed energy stocks down. Major US stock indexes haven’t covered much ground in recent weeks. The Standard & Poor's 500 notched its 31st consecutive session without a move of 1% or more in either direction, the longest such stretch in two years.
The index hit its 11th record of the year on August 15 but has since pulled back.
On Sunday, Fed vice-chairman Stanley Fischer said: "We are close to our targets" on employment and inflation, adding to recent comments from his central bank colleagues that suggest the Fed might raise rates sooner than previously thought.
That further raised the already high anticipation for a speech by Fed chairwoman Janet Yellen, this Friday, at the annual central bankers' meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Her comments will be scrutinised for fresh clues.
"Stan Fischer's comments clearly raised the risk of a more hawkish tone from Mrs Yellen on Friday," Dennis Debusschere, a senior managing director and global portfolio strategist at Evercore ISI in New York, told Bloomberg. "So that's impacting the dollar, risk assets and commodity prices."
Wall Street mixed
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average eased 23.15 points, or 0.1%, to 18,529.42. However, the Nasdaq Composite Index edged 0.1% higher to 5244.60 higher while the S&P 500 Index moved down just 1,2 points to 2182.36.
In the Dow, declines in shares of Apple and those of Johnson & Johnson, last 1% and 0.7% weaker respectively, outweighed gains in shares of Visa and those of Boeing, up 0.5% and 0.4 respectively.
The S&P 500’s energy sector lost 0.9%. Shares of Marathon Oil fell 6.9%. Halliburton lost 3.8%.
US crude oil snapped a seven-session winning streak to close down 3% at $US47.05 a barrel, its biggest drop since August 1.
Pfizer wins Medivation bidding
Deal news offered a boost. Shares of Medivation jumped, up 19.7% after Pfizer won a takeover battle for the maker of cancer drug Xtandi, with a deal worth about $US14 billion. Shares of Pfizer traded 0.4% weaker.
"The proposed acquisition of Medivation is expected to immediately accelerate revenue growth and drive overall earnings growth potential for Pfizer," Ian Read, Pfizer's chief executive officer, said in a statement.
"The addition of Medivation will strengthen Pfizer's Innovative Health business and accelerate its pathway to a leadership position in oncology, one of our key focus areas, which we believe will drive greater growth and scale of that business over the long-term."
In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index ended the session with a 0.1% slip from the previous close, as a drop in mining stocks weighed on the market. France's CAC 40 index declined 0.2%, the UK's FTSE 100 index fell 0.4% while Germany's DAX index retreated 0.5%.
Shares of Syngenta rallied, closing 10.6% higher, as state-owned China National Chemical won approval from the US national security regulator for its $US43 billion takeover of the Swiss chemical and seed company.
Kepler Cheuvreux analyst Christian Faitz said it was a "major milestone for the deal," adding in a note to clients that "approval removes a major potential hurdle and should come as a relief to Syngenta shareholders," Reuters reported. Kepler Cheuvreux rates Syngenta shares a "buy."
(BusinessDesk)
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