Utilities and real estate sectors were the top performers
US stocks closed in a mixed mode on Monday, 08 January 2018 at Wall Street. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed at records on Monday as gains in energy and industrials helped the benchmarks finish in positive territory in the first five sessions of 2018 on optimism over a stronger economy and looming fiscal stimulus.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average bucked the trend to slip 12.87 points to 25,283. The S&P 500 index gained 4.56 points, or 0.2%, to 2,747.71 and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 20.83 points, or 0.3, to 7,157.39.
All three major U.S. equity benchmarks touched intraday records during the session after posting record gains on Friday, finishing the first week of the new year with solid gains.
Nine of eleven sectors finished in positive territory. The lightly-weighted utilities and real estate sectors were the top performers.
The market struggled for direction following a quiet weekend and ahead of the fourth quarter earnings season, which will kick off on Friday with reports from JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.
Monday's lone economic report, the Consumer Credit report for November--showed an increase of 27.9 billion (Briefing.com consensus $18.0 billion). October credit growth was revised to $20.6 billion from $20.5 billion.
Oil prices finished higher on Monday, 08 January 2018 adding to last week's rally as traders welcomed data showing a weekly decline in the number of U.S. drilling rigs.
February West Texas Intermediate crude gained 29 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $61.73 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, recouping some of its 0.9% loss on Friday. March Brent crude added 16 cents, or 0.2%, to $67.78 after a 0.7% decline on Friday.
Data out on Friday further added to the overall upbeat assessment of the oil market. Weekly data from Baker Hughes showed the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil unexpectedly fell by five to 742 last week. That indicates production could slow down, which usually is a positive factor for oil prices.
Bullion prices ended lower at Comex on Monday, 08 January 2017 at Comex. Gold prices on Monday notched their first decline in a dozen sessions to end a record streak of gains. Strength in the dollar put some pressure on dollar-denominated prices for the precious metal, though modest gains in the U.S. stock market helped cap gold's decline.
February gold fell by $1.90, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,320.40 an ounce, while March silver declined by 14 cents, or 0.8%, to $17.144 an ounce.
On Monday, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said the Fed should keep raising short-term interest rates, but perhaps at a slower pace than last year.
In the bond market, U.S. Treasuries began the week on a quiet note with the benchmark 10-yr yield closing flat at 2.48%.
On Tuesday, investors will receive the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index and the November Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey at 6:00 AM ET and 10:00 AM ET, respectively.
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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)