U.S. stocks edge lower, pulling Dow back from a record high
U.S. stocks edged lower in early trading Monday, with energy stocks among the biggest decliners. The market is coming off an all-time high reached last week.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average lost 75 points, or 0.4%, to 18,064 as of 9:51 a.m. Eastern. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost six points, or 0.3%, to 2,103. The Nasdaq composite was down nine points, or 0.2%, to 4,946.
SECTOR WATCH: Six of the 10 sectors in the S&P 500 were down, with energy stocks notching the biggest decline. Utilities led the gainers.
GETTING DRILLED: Several offshore oil drilling companies tumbled in early trading. Noble slid 71 cents, or 3.7%, to $18.34, while Ensco shed $1.07, or 3.6%, to $28.69. Transocean fell 59 cents, or 3.5%, to $16.42.
OVERSEAS MARKETS: In Europe, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.6% and Germany’s DAX gained 0.7%. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.3%. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.7% and South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.4%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was little changed after trading reopened following Lunar New Year holidays.
GREECE’S DEAL: Greece and its European creditors reached an agreement that staved off the threat of bankruptcy and exit from the euro, though hurdles remain to cementing the short-term funding deal. The four-month extension averted bankruptcy and capital controls and ensures banks will have enough money to stock up their ATMs. But the Greek government must present economic reform measures by the end of Monday that are deemed acceptable by creditors and rooted in Greece’s previously enacted bailout agreement, which is something the government had promised not to do.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell $1.54 to $49.25 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell $1.02 on Friday to $50.81.
BONDS: U.S. government bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.08% from 2.11% late Friday.
