USA stocks posted small gains Monday, recovering somewhat from last week’s brutal selloff that had been fueled by a continuing rout in oil prices. Oil prices and energy stocks slumped, and investors were concerned that was another sign that the global economy is weak.
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At 8:47 a.m. ET (1347 GMT), Dow e-minis were up 119 points, or 0.69 percent, with 7,952 contracts changing hands.
United States oil prices fell 38 cents to US$35.24 a barrel early Monday, continuing a downward spiral. Natural gas, which is used for heating, has been sinking because of unseasonably warm winter weather in the U.S.
DuPont shares were down 4.3 per cent at US$67.37 after the company agreed on Friday to merge with Dow Chemical in a US$130 billion deal. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell four points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,007. Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 35.5 points, or 0.78 percent, on volume of 13,808 contracts.
Jarden was up 4.4 percent at $55 after Newell Rubbermaid said it would buy the maker of Sunbeam kitchen appliances in cash and stock.
Wholesale gasoline declined 2.6 cents, or 2 per cent, to $1.256 a gallon and heating oil lost 1.8 cents, or 1.6 per cent, to $1.128 a gallon. On the Nasdaq, 2,070 issues fell and 534 advanced.
Markets widely anticipate that the Federal Reserve will elect to raise interest rates on Wednesday, the first rate hike in over nine years. European equities limped into the close in sympathy with US declines and cheap oil, despite very dovish comments surrounding EU and United Kingdom monetary policy from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, and Bank of England member Nemat Shafik.
DEAL DIFFICULTIES: Activist investor Daniel Loeb is challenging the combination of chemicals makers DuPont and Dow Chemical, announced on Friday.
He said the keys will be the news conference and release of forecasts from Fed officials, as those will determine the reaction from specific stocks.
A Wall Street sign in front of the New York Stock Exchange in the Manhattan borough of New York January 27, 2015. The Fed last raised rates in 2006. Chevron fell 40 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $86.04.
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Shanghai stocks jumped more than 2 percent on Monday in their best session in a month, as stronger-than-expected November factory activity lifted sentiment without dashing hopes of fresh stimulus. The euro inched up to $1.1024 from $1.0993.
