NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are slumping Monday following losses in overseas markets. Banks are falling as Deutsche Bank hits an all-time low and interest rates move lower. Pfizer is pulling drug companies down after it announced it won’t break up into two companies. The price of oil is jumping and energy companies are trading higher.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average lost 138 points, or 0.8 percent, to 18,123 as of 1:15 p.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 15 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,149. The Nasdaq composite dropped 43 points, or 0.8 percent, to 5,262. Stocks are coming off two weeks of solid gains, and the Nasdaq set all-time highs twice last week.
LET’S STAY TOGETHER: Pfizer, one of the largest drug companies in the world, traded lower after it said it will not split up into two smaller companies. Some of its investors had supported that plan in the hope it would bolster the value of their stock and accelerate growth, but the Viagra maker has been signaling that it probably wouldn’t break up. Its stock fell 55 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $33.71.
QUEASY FEELING: Other drugmakers also slipped. Merck fell 89 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $62.07 and Bristol-Myers Squibb slid 90 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $55.58.
DEUTSCHE DOWN: Deutsche Bank slumped after German newsweekly Focus said the German government won’t help the bank by intervening with U.S. officials who want Deutsche Bank to pay $14 billion to end an investigation into its sale of mortgage-backed securities. The report, published Friday, cited government sources. Deutsche Bank stock tumbled 92 cents, or 7.2 percent, to $11.83. It’s down 51 percent in 2016 and is setting all-time lows.
BANKS: Deutsche Bank’s woes weighed on financial stocks, especially those in Europe. Banks were also hurt by falling bond yields, which mean lower interest rates and smaller profits on lending. Goldman Sachs took the largest loss among Dow stocks and sank $3.13, or 1.9 percent, to $162. Citigroup shed $1.03, or 2.2 percent, to $46.12.
The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell to 1.58 percent from 1.62 percent.
CONSUMER CHILL: Shares of Home Depot and Lowe’s sank after the government said sales of new homes fell almost 8 percent in August. That followed a big jump the month before. While sales of new homes have risen over the last year, there simply aren’t a lot of houses on the market.
Home Depot shed $1.93, or 1.5 percent, to $125.86 and Lowe’s fell $1.35, or 1.9 percent, to $71. That was part of a broad slump for consumer companies. Luxury retailer Michael Kors fell $2.04, or 4 percent, to $48.47 and cruise line company Carnival shed 68 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $46.58 despite solid quarterly results.
GOOD CHEMISTRY: Specialty chemicals maker Chemtura climbed after it agreed to be bought by Germany’s Lanxess. Lanxess is paying $33.50 per share for Chemtura, a 19-percent premium, and the companies valued the deal at $2.5 billion. Chemtura stock gained $4.44, or 15.7 percent, to $32.62.
MAKING A TRADE: CBOE Holdings, the parent company of the Chicago Board of Exchange, will buy stock exchange operator Bats Global Markets. The companies valued the deal at $3.2 billion, or $32.50 in cash and stock per share of Bats. Bats stock jumped 20 percent Friday as investors hoped that a deal was imminent, and it fell $1.26, or 4 percent, to $30.54 Monday. CBOE stock lost $3.64, or 5.2 percent, to $66.66.
OIL: Oil prices bounced higher as investors monitor a meeting of oil producers in Algiers, Algeria over the coming days. Benchmark U.S. crude rose $1.56, or 3.5 percent, to $46.04 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose $1.49, or 3.2 percent, to $47.97 a barrel in London. Oil exploration companies rose the most. Transocean climbed 45 cents, or 4.9 percent, to $9.55 and Noble Energy added 72 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $33.74.
TENURE’S END: Casual clothing retailer Lands’ End skidded after the departure of its CEO. Federica Marchionni left Dolce & Gabbana to join Lands’ End less than two years ago but was unable to stop a decline in sales that has now lasted four years. Lands’ End stock lost $2.69, or 14.9 percent, to $15.31. It is down 35 percent this year.
ARISE, ARRAY: Drug developer Array BioPharma surged $2.26, or 61.9 percent, to $5.91 after it reported good results for an experimental melanoma treatment in a clinical trial.
CURRENCIES: The dollar slid to 100.36 yen from 101.09 yen. The euro rose to $1.1255 from $1.1231.
OVERSEAS: The DAX in Germany dropped 2.2 percent and France’s CAC 40 fell 1.8 percent. In Britain, the FTSE 100 was down 1.3 percent. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 edged down 1.3 percent. South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.3 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.7 percent.
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AP Markets Writer Marley Jay can be reached at http://twitter.com/MarleyJayAP His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/marley-jay
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