USA stock indexes declined in morning trading Wednesday, pulled down by a slide in energy companies as oil prices headed lower.
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The International Energy Agency expects global demand for oil to grow less than previously expected next year due to a weaker economy.
Banks and health care companies also weighed on the market, while telecom and consumer-focused stocks notched gains.
The S&P 500 fell 0.3% to 2,175.49, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 37.39 points, or 0.2%, to 18,495.66.
The S&P 500 was up 11.13 points, or 0.51%, at 2,186.62 less than 1 point from its record high. The Nasdaq Composite closed lower at 5,204.58, for a loss of 20.90 points or 0.40%.
A rally since late June has taken the S&P 500 up over 6 per cent in 2016, as continued low interest rates encourage investors to buy U.S. equities, although many investors are concerned about high valuations. Traders are looking ahead to Friday, when the government delivers its latest monthly retail sales figures.
Robust U.S. economic data also helped on Thursday, with a report showing the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell to 266,000 from 269,000 the previous week. The small gains came after stocks closed lower on Wednesday, dragged down by a slump in oil prices.
Reports on a large, unexpected increase in the USA oil stockpiles fell heavily on the crude oil price repealing an early gain.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark for USA crude futures surged $1.79 or 4.3% to $43.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price worldwide oils, advanced 14 cents to $46.18.
Henkel reported strong second quarter results and raised its margin guidance for the full year.
The dollar fell against a basket of currencies, with the euro rising to $1.118 and the yen falling to 101.28. The stock lost $9.09 to $86.
SCORCHED: Traders sought shade from SunPower after the solar products and service company tumbled 30.6 percent. The company said its power plant business is struggling amid growing competition and project delays.
Perrigo (PRGO.N) dropped almost 10 percent after reporting a lower-than-expected profit and slashing its earnings forecast.
EATING IT UP: Brinker International jumped 12.8 percent after the owner of the Chili’s Bar & Grill and Maggiano’s Little Italy chains reported strong quarterly results.
FASHIONABLE RESULTS: Clothing company Ralph Lauren surged 9 percent after it delivered strong quarterly results.
(JD.O) jumped 4.65 percent after it reported revenue within its forecast.
METALS: The price of gold slipped $1.80, or 0.1 percent, to $1,342.50 an ounce.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.52 percent. Copper gained 2 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $2.19 a pound.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index rose 0.7 percent to 16,856.27 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.8 percent to 22,757.22. China’s Shanghai Composite index rose 0.2 percent at 3,023.26.
In other corporate news, Valeant Pharmaceuticals (TSX:VRX) says it is co-operating with authorities following a media report that it is under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s office.
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ENERGY FUTURES: In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline added 6 cents to $1.36 a gallon, while heating oil rose 6 cents to $1.38 a gallon. According to the live dollar index data the ICE US Dollar index, a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of six rival currencies, ended 0.57% lower at 95.552.
