NEW YORK: US stocks began a heavy week of earnings reports on a down note Monday, with a drop in oil prices sending leading oil producers lower.
Wall Street stocks were in negative territory much of the day, following declines of one percent or more in Paris and Frankfurt and a modest drop in London.
Petroleum-linked shares fell on Wall Street, as oil prices declined due to pressure from the stronger dollar. Midsized oil producers suffered the most dramatic falls, with Devon Energy losing 3.3 percent and Marathon Oil 4.1 percent.
It was a fairly light day for US economic data releases. This week’s calendar of earnings includes Coca-Cola, General Motors, Disney and Expedia.
Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare said technical factors played a role in Monday’s retreat after a big rally in US stocks Friday.
Other factors weakening stocks were lingering questions about US policy implementation under President Donald Trump and political uncertainty in the eurozone due to the upcoming French and German elections, he said.
“The political uncertainty will stifle things from time to time, but insomuch as the US stock market is concerned, it still connotes an otherwise hopeful view of matters,” O’Hare said.
Some European analysts have a less sanguine view of the outlook in the US, pointing to Trump’s unpredictability and controversies surrounding his trade and immigration policies.
Jasper Lawler of London Capital Group said the feeling on markets was one of aversion to risk. He cited the conflict between Trump and the US courts after a federal judge blocked the temporary ban on refugees and travellers from seven countries.
“The decision to overrule Donald Trump’s travel bans edges the US one step closer to the kind of constitutional crisis that nobody would want to invest in,” Lawler said.
– Key figures around 2200 GMT –
New York – Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 20,052.42 (close)
New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.2 percent at 2,292.56 (close)
New York – Nasdaq: DOWN 0.1 percent at 5,663.55 (close)
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 7,171.15 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX 30: DOWN 1.2 percent at 11,509.84 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 1.0 percent at 4,778.08 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.0 percent at 3,240.78
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 18,976.71 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng: UP 1.0 percent at 23,348.24 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.5 percent at 3,156.98 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0752 from $1.0782
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2470 from $1.2482
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 111.70 yen from 112.61 yen
Oil – West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 82 cents at $53.01 per barrel
Oil – Brent North Sea: DOWN $1.09 at $55.72 per barrel
