Stocks Retreat From Records as Health Care Slumps
New York (Aug 8) The S&P500 was down 0.09%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.08%, and the Nasdaq slid 0.15%.
Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) led the health care sector lower on Monday after Credit Suisse cut its rating to neutral from outperform. The drug company slumped on Friday in the second-biggest one-day drop in its history after disappointing trial results for a highly anticipated lung cancer treatment.
Fellow health care stocks moved lower alongside Bristol-Myers. AbbVie (ABBV) , Amgen (AMGN) , Pfizer (PFE) , Merck (MRK) and Novartis (NVS) were all lower on Monday, while the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) fell 0.9%.
A rally in crude oil helped to keep overall market losses shallow on Monday. Crude spiked on reports some members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, including Ecuador, Kuwait and Venezuela, are pushing for a production freeze amid a global supply glut. The cartel will hold an informal meeting at the end of September.
"Many OPEC members are likely to be in favor of the freeze, but any meaningful action would require coordination from members with more significant upside to current production (principally Iran and Libya)," said Robbie Fraser, commodity analyst at Schneider Electric. "If the last round of talks is any indication, this latest revival is likely to be high on speculation and relatively weak on substance."
West Texas Intermediate crude oil, the U.S. benchmark, settled 2.58% higher at $42.88 a barrel on Monday, its best close since July 25.
The energy sector was the best performer on markets Monday. Major oilers including Exxon Mobil (XOM) , Chevron (CVX) and ConocoPhillips (COP) were higher, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) added 1.4%.
Stocks secured new records Friday after the latest labor market snapshot breezed past expectations, providing evidence for the U.S. economic recovery. The S&P 500 scored an all-time record close of 2,182.86, while the Nasdaq climbed to a record close of 5,221.12, its first since July last year.
Source: The Street
