US close: Stocks begin week in the red, post marginal gains for November
US equity markets began the week on a downbeat note, trimming their gains for November as Wall Street resumed proceedings after Thanksgiving and Black Friday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 79 points to 17,719.92, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were one 10 and 16 points lower respectively.
“The US is going to dictate the overall direction of trading this week, especially with an incredibly important non-farm Friday on the cards,” said Spreadex’s financial analyst Connor Campbell.
Following a shortened week which culminated in the Thanksgiving celebrations, on Thursday Wall Street will closely monitor a policy meeting at the European Central Bank and a speech by Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen. Meanwhile, on Friday, investors will analyse the latest job report ahead of the Fed’s December policy meeting, while OPEC’s two-day meeting in Vienna also concludes on Friday.
US pending home sales rose for the first time in two months in October, gaining 0.2% month-on-month from an upwardly revised 1.6% decline in September, although they fell short of analysts’ expectations for a 1% increase.
On a year-on-year basis, pending home sales rose 2.1% compared with an upwardly revised 3.2% gain in September and analysts’ expectations for a 4.5% advance.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Purchasing Managers’ Index, which measures business conditions across Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, declined from 56.2 last month to 48.7 in November, falling short of analysts’ expectations for a 54 reading.
"While the negative reading in November suggests sluggish Chicago-area activity, we do not see this morning’s print as necessarily indicative of a national slowdown," said analysts at Barclays.
In company news, retailers were in focus as investors assessed their performances over the holiday weekend of sales. eBay gained 1.68% after research found it was the best place to shop for apparel, accessories and consumer packaged goods during the so-called "Cyber week".
Fitbit rose 3.02% after analysts at Barclays upgraded their rating on the provider of health and fitness product to overweight, while Microsoft after analysts at Raymond James lifted their rating on the stock citing strong cloud potential.
Lululemon Athletica slumped 8.91% after it was downgraded from ‘perform’ to ‘underperform’ by analysts at FBR & Co.
Elsewhere, Asian stocks began the week on a mixed note, as the rebound in Chinese stocks was halted by the ongoing investigation into a number of brokerages, while European stocks edged higher.
The dollar fell 0.17% against the pound and rose 0.22% and 0.26% against the yen and the euro respectively, while gold spot gained 0.79% to $1,065.76.
Oil prices slid, with West Texas Intermediate losing 0.34% to $41.57 a barrel, while Brent crude fell 0.79% to $44.51 a barrel.
S&P 500 - Risers
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $12.35 +6.33%
Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) $18.42 +5.89%
CONSOL Energy Inc. (CNX) $7.88 +5.28%
Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) $11.41 +4.11%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $35.93 +3.78%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $9.01 +3.09%
Keurig Green Mountain Inc (GMCR) $52.40 +3.07%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $62.79 +2.85%
Adt Corp (ADT) $35.49 +2.75%
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) $33.82 +2.67%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC) $31.40 -54.24%
Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) $22.40 -5.29%
Under Armour Inc. Class A (UA) $86.25 -3.83%
Brown Forman Corp. Class B (BF.B) $102.45 -3.81%
FedEx Corp. (FDX) $158.55 -3.38%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $544.50 -3.30%
Baxalta Incorporated (BXLT) $34.48 -3.28%
AbbVie Inc (ABBV) $58.17 -3.05%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $73.11 -3.00%
Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) $219.37 -2.89%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $72.66 +2.02%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $91.50 +1.25%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $34.79 +0.96%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $54.39 +0.85%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $139.45 +0.72%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $81.78 +0.68%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $45.50 +0.60%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $118.39 +0.49%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $67.42 +0.49%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $58.87 -1.70%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $53.08 -1.62%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $132.30 -1.51%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $113.49 -1.42%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $112.72 -1.42%
General Electric Co. (GE) $29.96 -1.32%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $42.63 -1.19%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $74.89 -1.07%
Boeing Co. (BA) $145.46 -1.01%
Visa Inc. (V) $79.10 -0.93%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $217.37 +5.73%
Nxp Semiconductors Nv (NXPI) $93.42 +5.73%
Vimpelcom Ltd Ads (VIP) $3.60 +5.26%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $35.93 +3.78%
Keurig Green Mountain Inc (GMCR) $52.40 +3.07%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $62.79 +2.85%
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) $33.82 +2.67%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $15.95 +2.51%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $61.67 +2.02%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $30.52 +1.90%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $544.50 -3.30%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $109.49 -2.84%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $129.36 -2.78%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $49.79 -2.68%
Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $89.36 -2.24%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $178.45 -2.20%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $286.87 -2.16%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $114.23 -2.16%
CH Robinson Worldwide Inc (CHRW) $67.43 -2.08%
Staples Inc. (SPLS) $12.07 -1.95%