US close: Markets slip back amid geopolitical tensions in Hong Kong

US stocks ended the session well off their intra-day lows, but nevertheless in the red, amid rising political tensions in Hong Kong, while a rebound in consumer spending had investors wondering whether the Federal Reserve might not raise interest rates sooner than expected.

As regards the latter the president of the Federal Reserve bank of Dallas - a well-known hawk - was quoted by The Wall Street Journal as saying the central bank should consider raising interest rates by next spring.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 41.93 points down at 17,071.22. The Nasdaq lost 6.34 points to 4,505.85 and the S&P 500 dropped 5.05 points to 1,977.80.

Data released on Monday showed that consumer spending in the US rebounded in August, with purchases increasing 0.5% while incomes rose 0.3%.

In parallel, figures published by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) showed contracts to acquire previously owned homes suffer a decline in August, with limited wage growth and tighter credit proving a stumbling block for potential buyers.

In corporate news, Dreamworks Animation surged 26% after The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Japan-based Softbank was looking to acquire the animation studio.

Athlon Energy rose 24.8% following news that Encana Corporation has agreed a cash takeover worth $5.93bn, while Ambit Biosciences shares leaped 87.07% after Daiichi Sankyo announced it will buy the firm for a fee thought to be in the region of $315m.

Apple shares fell marginally, as reports emerged that European Union (EU) regulators are expected to publish a report on Tuesday showing that the Silicon Valley giant breached EU laws.

On Friday, Pimco founder Bill Gross said it would leave the company to join Janus Capital Group. Shares in the company fell over 7% on Monday following a 43% leap on the last day of the previous week.

Ford dropped 7% after cutting its pre-tax profit forecasts for 2014 to $6bn from a previous estimate of $7-8bn. The automobile giant also said it will lose $1.2bn in Europe this year on a pre-tax basis and will follow that up with a $250m pre-tax loss in 2015.

Ford, however, also stressed it was more confident of the short-term picture in Asia, where it expects to post $700m in pre-tax profit for the financial year.

West Texas intermediate crude rose 1.05% and traded at $94.5 a barrel by the close on NYMEX, while the dollar dropped against the pound and the euro but rose against the yen.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note dropped five basis points to 2.49%, while the five-year note lost another four points to 1.77% and the 30-year Treasury bond fell to 3.17% after dropping five points.

S&P 500 - Risers

Iron Mountain Inc. (IRM) $33.90 +6.27%
NiSource Inc. (NI) $40.84 +5.86%
Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC) $59.62 +5.28%
Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN) $38.85 +2.94%
Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD) $201.96 +2.73%
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG) $33.01 +2.67%
Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY) $33.65 +2.16%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $6.48 +2.13%
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $30.41 +2.05%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $87.78 +2.01%

S&P 500 - Fallers
Ford Motor Co. (F) $15.11 -7.47%
Borg Warner Inc. (BWA) $54.31 -3.57%
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $35.17 -3.33%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $37.71 -3.32%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $178.99 -2.99%
Staples Inc. (SPLS) $12.15 -2.61%
Covidien Plc (COV) $87.81 -2.41%
Rowan Companies plc (RDC) $25.49 -2.37%
Noble Corporation plc (NE) $22.54 -2.17%
Harman International Industries Inc. (HAR) $102.03 -2.14%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Intel Corp. (INTC) $34.90 +1.87%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $96.22 +1.61%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $25.13 +0.50%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $29.77 +0.17%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $42.25 +0.12%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $88.83 +0.10%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $46.44 +0.06%
Boeing Co. (BA) $128.77 +0.06%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $92.88 +0.04%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $59.41 +0.03%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $94.43 -1.05%
General Electric Co. (GE) $25.42 -0.82%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $120.55 -0.76%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $183.83 -0.70%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $93.77 -0.67%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $72.05 -0.62%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $99.83 -0.55%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $76.08 -0.54%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $106.54 -0.52%
Visa Inc. (V) $210.93 -0.48%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $87.78 +2.01%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $34.50 +1.98%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $34.90 +1.87%
Cerner Corp. (CERN) $59.69 +1.76%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $55.04 +1.40%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $69.22 +1.27%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $95.64 +1.25%
Equinix Inc. (EQIX) $212.07 +1.13%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $464.94 +1.01%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $91.32 +0.87%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Vimpelcom Ltd Ads (VIP) $7.15 -6.29%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $37.71 -3.32%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $178.99 -2.99%
Staples Inc. (SPLS) $12.15 -2.61%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $20.91 -1.60%
F5 Networks Inc. (FFIV) $119.16 -1.55%
Catamaran Corp (CTRX) $42.68 -1.52%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $90.80 -1.47%
Priceline Group Inc (PCLN) $1,161.05 -1.14%
Nxp Semiconductors Nv (NXPI) $70.28 -1.14%