Banks fall, tech declines as indexes end lower
NEW YORK - U.S. stock indexes edged lower for the second day in a row Wednesday as a sharp drop for banks and a rare loss for technology companies canceled out gains for drugmakers and consumer-focused companies.
NEW YORK - U.S. stock indexes edged lower for the second day in a row Wednesday as a sharp drop for banks and a rare loss for technology companies canceled out gains for drugmakers and consumer-focused companies.
Banks fell hard as executives from JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America said their trading businesses are having a rough second quarter. An eight-day winning streak for technology companies ended. Energy companies fell with oil prices. Investors picked consumer-focused companies, drugmakers, high-dividend utilities, and household goods companies. The New York Stock Exchange was evenly split between gainers and losers.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 1.11 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 2,411.80. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 20.82 points, or 0.1 percent, to 21,008.65. The Nasdaq composite fell 4.67 points, or 0.1 percent, to 6,198.52. The Russell 2000 index of small-company stocks slipped 0.99 points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,370.21.
Pfizer rose 52 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $32.65 and Irish drugmaker Perrigo climbed $4,93, or 7.3 percent, to $72.85 after its first-quarter report was better than expected. Health care products maker Johnson & Johnson advanced $1.14 to $128.25.
Benchmark U.S. crude lost $1.34, or 2.7 percent, to $48.32 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the standard for international oil prices, fell $1.53, or 3 percent, to $50.31 a barrel in London. Energy stocks continued to decline. Exxon Mobil sank 60 cents to $80.50 and Hess declined 78 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $45.89.
Michael Kors Holdings hit a five-year low after it said it will close up to 125 stores as its sales have remained weak. The luxury retailer said sales at older stores dropped in its latest quarter and investors were disappointed with its projections for the current quarter. The stock tumbled $3.09, or 8.5 percent, to $33.18.
The dollar slipped to 110.57 yen from 110.78 yen. The euro rose to $1.1246 from $1.1188.
In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline lost 3 cents to $1.61 a gallon. Heating oil gave up 3 cents to $1.52 a gallon. Natural gas dropped 7 cents to $3.07 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Gold rose $9.70 to $1,265.40 an ounce. Silver fell 2 cents to $17.41 an ounce. Copper gained 2 cents to $2.58 a pound.