RTSJK2PThe S&P 500 opened at a record high on Monday as oil prices rose and after Friday’s stellar jobs report suggested strength in the USA economy, boosting appetite for risk.
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Wall Street shares marked fresh record highs on Friday after USA non-farm payrolls beat consensus forecasts – by a huge margin.
Energy stocks rose Monday as crude prices hit a almost two-week high on hopes of an output freeze by the world’s largest oil exporters.
Health-care stocks were among the biggest decliners.
The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 14.24 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 18,529.29. The S&P 500 declined 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.2%.
The Nasdaq Composite was up 5.04 points, or 0.1 percent, at 5,226.16 and is just 5 points away from its record high.
The S&P 500 index showed 28 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 85 new highs and 12 new lows.
“We’re coming off a strong session on the back of solid economic data that the markets needed to justify additional exposure to equities”, said Andre Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital in Bernardsville, New Jersey.
DEEPER SLIDE: Shares in Bristol-Myers Squibb were hammered again Monday after plunging on Friday following news that the drugmaker’s cancer treatment Opdivo failed in a study aimed at extending its usage for lung cancer patients. The stock lost $2.95, or 4.7 percent, to $60.30.
Meanwhile, Allergan slid 2.2% after the Botox-maker’s second-quarter revenue fell short of Wall Street’s forecasts. The stock lost $6.56 to $247.29. Wal-Mart Stores slid on news it was buying fast-growing online retailer Jet.com for $3.3 billion in cash and shares.
Shares in Wal-Mart shed 42 cents to 73.34 dollars.
PUMPED: Several oil and natural gas companies were moving higher.
Marathon Oil added 38 cents, or 2.7%, to 14.25 dollars, while Tesoro rose 2.76 dollars, or 3.7%, to 77.47 dollars. The stock gained $33.98 to $63.72.
In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 index was up 0.1% after closing at its best level in over a year, while the Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.2%, on track for a fourth consecutive day of gains.
ASIA’S DAY: Markets in Asia moved mostly higher despite a report showing China’s exports fell again in July, while a decline in imports accelerated.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 1.6%, while Australia’s S&P ASX 200 rose 0.7%. The Standard & Poor’s 500 fell 2 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,181. They had estimated a 0.2 percent rise on August 3. Copper added a penny, or 0.5 per cent, to $2.17 a pound.
Futures were also helped by a 1.8 percent rise in oil prices on reports of renewed talks by some OPEC members to restrain output.
Benchmark U.S. crude rose $1.22, or 2.9 per cent, to close at $43.02 per barrel in NY. Brent crude, used to price global oils, was up $1.41, or 3.2 percent, at $45.68 per barrel in London.
Merck, which makes a rival drug, fell 2 per cent.
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In metals trading, the price of gold fell $3.10, or 0.2 per cent, to $1,341.30 an ounce. Silver dipped 4 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $19.78 an ounce. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note held at 1.59 percent.
