Stocks tumble in last hour, close lower; oil up 3%
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There are 15 companies in the S&P 500, including oil company Hess (HES), online retailer Amazon.com (AMZN) and toymaker Mattel (MAT) that are expected to lose money in the first quarter. USA TODAY
Stocks gave back early gains and fell sharply in the last hour of trading as the major indexes closed lower, breaking a two-day winning streak.
According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 6 points, or less than 0.1%, to 17,875, after being up more than 100 points earlier in the session. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped 5 points, or 0.2%, to 2076 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 7 points, or 0.2%, to 4910.
Utilities led the losses as the sector dropped more than 1%. Health care and energy were the only sectors of the 10 S&P 500 sectors to hold onto gains.
Energy stocks rose as oil prices surged for a second day. Benchmark U.S. crude gained 3% to $ 53.38 a barrel, adding to Monday’s 6% rise. Chevron rose 1.4% and ExxonMobil gained 0.7%.
Earlier in the day, stocks rose after a batch of corporate deals and a growing sense that the Fed will push back its first rate hike to sometime in the third quarter or perhaps later lifted stocks.
In merger and acquisitions news:
• Shares of FedEx (FDX) rose 2.6% after announcing it was expanding into Europe in a $ 4.8 billion deal to buy Dutch rival TNT Express. The all-cash deal will allow the package delivery company to better compete overseas with United Parcel Service.
• Axalta Coating Systems (AXTA) got a boost after an affiliate of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) bought 20 million shares of the paint company for $ 28 a share. The purchase gives Buffett an 8.7% stake in the company. Shares of Axalta jumped 9%.
Global stock markets were higher as European markets rallied. France’s CAC-40 gained 1.5% and Germany’s DAX was up 1.3%. Britain’s FTSE 100 added 1.9%.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.25% and the Shanghai Composite surged 2.5%. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange was closed for a holiday.
Wall Street shrugged off the weak March jobs report, which was released Friday when the stock market was closed for Easter, and drove stocks sharply higher Monday amid a growing sense that the Fed will push back its first rate hike to sometime in the third quarter or perhaps later.
Prior to the jobs report, most Wall Street pros expected the first hike in June or July.
Contributing: Adam Shell, Associated Press
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