US close: Markets end lower as investors look to Fed
US markets closed lower on Monday, with investors starting to play wait-and-see with the Federal Reserve, for cues as to when the next interest rate hike may come.
Dow Jones I.A.
38,085.80
04:30 15/10/20
EUR/USD
$1.0714
14:58 26/04/24
GBP/USD
$1.2508
14:58 26/04/24
Nasdaq 100
17,430.50
12:15 25/04/24
USD/JPY
¥156.8810
14:58 26/04/24
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.05% to finish at 17,492.93, the S&P 500 was 0.21% down at 2,048.04, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.08% to end at 4,765.78.
On the S&P, utilities closed almost 1% lower to lead the declining sectors, while materials finished more than 1% higher, led by CF Industries and Monsanto which both gained more than 4%.
German pharmaceuticals giant Bayer laid down a $122 per share offer for Monsanto, in a deal worth $62bn including debt.
It was a premium of more than 20% on Monsanto’s closing price on Friday of $101.52.
CF Industries, meanwhile, ended its merger agreement with Dutch rival OCI after the Treasury made attempts to end tax-avoiding inversion deals.
In technology, Apple pared back from session highs but still managed to close more than 1% above the line after the Economic Daily in Taiwan reported that the California firm asked suppliers to assemble more iPhone 7 models than expected.
Alphabet, Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft all closed lower, however, dragging on the Nasdaq.
In other merger news, Anthem and Cigna were reported to be privately quarreling over their planned $48bn combination, with the Wall Street Journal citing a chain of letters as the two health insurance giants seek regulatory approval for their deal.
On the data front, the Markit manufacturing PMI reading came in at 50.5, down from 50.8 in April.
Investors were also awaiting durable goods data and the second revision to first-quarter GDP, both due later this week.
St Louis Fed president James Bullard made remarks earlier, saying the tight labour market could be putting upward pressure on domestic inflation, which would pave the way for higher interest rates.
In separate remarks San Francisco Fed president John Williams indicated there could be two or three rate hikes this year, and three or four in 2017.
Both sets of comments came after Boston Fed president Eric Rosengren told the Financial Times at the weekend that “most of the conditions that were laid out in the minutes as of right now seem to be ... on the verge of broadly being met.”
Fed chair Janet Yellen is also due to speak on Friday afternoon, and then again on 6 June.
Philadelphia Fed president Patrick Harker was due to speak after the markets closed on Monday, giving investors plenty to wait for.
State Street Global Markets North America head of macro strategy Lee Ferridge said the market has clearly received the message about rate hikes in June.
“Since the April meeting there’s been a consistent message. I think we need the data to justify [a rate hike in June].
“The other thing is to hear Yellen justify it,” Ferridge said.
Crude futures fell lower during US trading, and continued to decline as the baton was handed to Asia.
Brent crude was last down 0.74% at $48.36 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate had declined 0.62% at $48.11.
The dollar managed to gain on sterling, and was last 0.19% ahead at USD 1.4474, with a lesser gain on the euro - 0.05% to USD 1.1218.
Against the yen, the greenback was relatively weaker, slipping 0.81% to JPY 109.26.
S&P 500 - Risers
Monsanto Co. (MON) $106.00 +4.41%
CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $29.85 +4.41%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $66.87 +3.63%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $13.82 +3.44%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $11.14 +3.15%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $11.99 +2.92%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $91.48 +2.83%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $11.38 +2.71%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $94.89 +2.59%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $39.95 +2.30%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Roper Technologies Inc (ROP) $172.71 -5.67%
CIGNA Corp. (CI) $126.15 -3.91%
Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) $54.46 -2.98%
Mallinckrodt Plc Ordinary Shares (MNK) $59.23 -2.95%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $9.05 -2.90%
Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) $35.57 -2.89%
Tesoro Corp. (TSO) $77.01 -2.63%
AutoZone Inc. (AZO) $742.08 -2.56%
H&R Block Inc. (HRB) $20.05 -2.53%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $4.89 -2.40%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $67.00 +1.90%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $96.43 +1.27%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $70.40 +0.76%
3M Co. (MMM) $166.11 +0.67%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $155.45 +0.61%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $30.23 +0.27%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $80.20 +0.22%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $122.81 +0.20%
Boeing Co. (BA) $127.58 +0.15%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $43.97 +0.05%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $50.03 -1.17%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $49.14 -1.05%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $55.99 -0.87%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $99.18 -0.60%
Visa Inc. (V) $77.21 -0.59%
American Express Co. (AXP) $63.59 -0.52%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $69.50 -0.52%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $111.39 -0.45%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $112.16 -0.43%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $99.38 -0.41%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $80.68 +3.90%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $66.87 +3.63%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $11.14 +3.15%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $94.89 +2.59%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $39.95 +2.30%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $40.46 +2.28%
NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $24.69 +1.94%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $65.81 +1.94%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $20.80 +1.91%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $392.64 +1.72%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $225.00 -3.48%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $22.89 -2.39%
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $61.74 -1.91%
Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) $216.22 -1.84%
Endo International Plc (ENDP) $15.16 -1.81%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $75.56 -1.73%
Ctrip.Com International Ltd. Ads (CTRP) $42.64 -1.73%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $33.13 -1.60%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $35.21 -1.46%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $253.32 -1.35%