Moneycontrol PRO
HomeNewsBusinessMarketsWall Street ends flat, but energy shares lower

Wall Street ends flat, but energy shares lower

Energy shares were by far the day's biggest drag, with the S&P 500 energy index falling 2 percent. US crude oil CLc1 briefly traded below USD 80 a barrel after Goldman Sachs slashed its crude price forecasts, citing abundant supply and lackluster demand.

October 28, 2014 / 08:52 IST

US stocks ended near flat on Monday, pausing after the S&P 500's biggest weekly gain since January 2013, while energy shares fell with another decline in oil prices.

Among the day's biggest positives, shares of Gilead Sciences rose 1.7 percent to USD 112.59, a day ahead of its scheduled earnings release. Micron Technology shares jumped 4 percent to USD 32.30 and was the largest percentage gainer on both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 after it announced a USD 1 billion stock repurchase.

But energy shares were by far the day's biggest drag, with the S&P 500 energy index falling 2 percent. US crude oil CLc1 briefly traded below USD 80 a barrel after Goldman Sachs slashed its crude price forecasts, citing abundant supply and lackluster demand. The S&P 500 ended the day down slightly after closing out its best week since early January 2013, a sharp recovery from the market's recent selloff. The index is now up 5.3 percent from its October 15 low.

"After almost a 10 percent correction on the S&P, the bulls showed up and sent the prices right back up. Now... we're on track for closing in the upper half of the range for the month, which is a bullish sign," said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of Sarhan Capital in New York.

Accommodative central bank policies globally should keep "an underlying bid for stocks," he said.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 12.53 points, or 0.07 percent, to 16,817.94, the S&P 500 lost 2.95 points, or 0.15 percent, to 1,961.63 and the Nasdaq Composite added 2.22 points, or 0.05 percent, to 4,485.93.

The majority of companies are beating earnings expectations. With results in from 213 of the S&P 500 companies, 71.4 percent beat analysts' forecasts, which would be highest percentage since the third quarter of 2011, Thomson Reuters data showed.

US-traded shares of Brazilian companies tumbled after President Dilma Rousseff won reelection, defeating market favorite Aecio Neves by a slim margin.

Petrobras ADRs slumped 13.7 percent to USD 11.16 and Vale lost 5.2 percent to USD 10.58. A Brazilian exchange-traded fund dropped 5.4 percent.

After the bell, shares of Twitter dropped 9.6 percent to USD 43.88 after it reported quarterly revenue that surpassed expectations but forecast fourth-quarter sales that may miss targets.

On the S&P 500, the largest decliner was Nabors Industries, down 6.7 percent to USD 17.48. On the Nasdaq, the largest decliner was Tesla Motors, down 5.8 percent at USD 221.67.

Declining NYSE issues outnumbered advancers 1,737 to 1,308, for a 1.33-to-1 ratio on the downside; on the Nasdaq, 1,424 issues fell and 1,235 advanced for a 1.15-to-1 ratio.

The benchmark S&P 500 index posted 53 new 52-week highs and one new low; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 45 new highs and 62 new lows.

About 6.1 billion shares changed hands on US exchanges, below the 8 billion average this month, according to data from BATS Global Markets.

first published: Oct 28, 2014 07:53 am

Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!

Subscribe to Tech Newsletters

  • On Saturdays

    Find the best of Al News in one place, specially curated for you every weekend.

  • Daily-Weekdays

    Stay on top of the latest tech trends and biggest startup news.

Advisory Alert: It has come to our attention that certain individuals are representing themselves as affiliates of Moneycontrol and soliciting funds on the false promise of assured returns on their investments. We wish to reiterate that Moneycontrol does not solicit funds from investors and neither does it promise any assured returns. In case you are approached by anyone making such claims, please write to us at grievanceofficer@nw18.com or call on 02268882347