By Saumya Vaishampayan
U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday, as a renewed slide in oil prices
weighed on energy shares.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 96 points, or 0.6%, to
17416. The S&P 500 lost eight points, or 0.4%, to 2012, and the
Nasdaq Composite Index declined 14 points, or 0.3%, to 4619.
Crude-oil futures slumped 4.7% to $46.84 a barrel, pressuring
energy stocks, which fell the most on the S&P 500, down 1.4%.
Among shares of oil and gas producers, Denbury Resources Inc. fell
5% and Range Resources Corp. dropped 4.7%.
"The market has taken on a real air of volatility lately," said
Michael Antonelli, sales trader at Robert W. Baird. "There's no
real conviction...something as simple as crude oil dropping can
drop the market."
Johnson & Johnson was among the biggest decliners on the Dow
industrials. The company said fourth-quarter sales slipped 0.6%,
dented by a stronger U.S. dollar. Shares fell 2.9%, even as
per-share earnings, excluding one-time charges, beat
expectations.
The U.S. stock market was closed Monday. U.S. stocks rose
Friday, with the Dow gaining 1.1% to 17511.57. The S&P rallied
1.3% to 2019.42.
Even with Friday's gains, the major indexes posted weekly
losses, their third in a row. Market volatility has increased in
recent weeks, with the CBOE Volatility Index ending at 20.95 on
Friday, just above its 10-year average of 20 and sharply higher
than its 2014 average of 14.2. Intraday swings are likely to
continue, with investors watching for fourth-quarter earnings, a
policy decision from the European Central Bank and elections in
Greece.
Expectations are building for the ECB to unveil a large-scale
bond-buying program aimed at reviving Europe's economy. The ECB
meets Thursday. French President François Hollande said Monday he
expected the ECB to announce it will buy government bonds.
Expectations of quantitative easing boosted European stocks,
propelling the Stoxx Europe 600 up 0.8%, close to a seven-year
high. Government bonds in many Southern European countries hovered
near record highs.
China's Shanghai Composite Index, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index
and Japan's Nikkei Stock Average all advanced Tuesday.
Data showed that China's economic growth slowed to 7.4% in 2014,
falling to a level not seen in a quarter century.
In other markets, gold futures added 1.1% to $1290.50 an
ounce.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.788% from 1.815% on
Friday. Bond yields fall as prices rise.
In other earnings news, Delta Air Lines Inc. said tumbling gas
prices boosted its fourth-quarter results, which beat expectations.
Shares rose 3.6%, among the biggest gainers on the S&P 500.
Morgan Stanley reported fourth-quarter results that missed
analyst estimates. Shares of the bank fell 1.7%.
Write to Saumya Vaishampayan at saumya.vaishampayan@wsj.com
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