NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes drifted lower Tuesday, taking a break after a strong two-day run. Chevron and other oil giants made gains as crude oil climbed above $60 a barrel for the first time this year.
KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor’s 500 was down 14 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,100 as of 11:25 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average sank 79 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,991, the Nasdaq composite fell 58 points, or 1.2 percent, to 4,958.
MICKEY’S MAGIC: Walt Disney’s stock hit an all-time high after it delivered quarterly results that beat Wall Street’s estimates, thanks, in part, to rising revenue from its Walt Disney World Resort and other theme parks. Last weekend, its “Avengers: Age of Ultron” had the second-biggest domestic opening behind the first “Avengers.” Disney’s stock climbed 62 cents, less than 1 percent, to $111.66.
EARNINGS: The first-quarter earnings season has given investors little to celebrate, said Tim Dreiling, a senior portfolio manager at a division of U.S. Bank Wealth Management. More than seven out of every 10 companies in the S&P 500 have reported results that beat estimates. Yet more than half have fallen short of analysts’ sales targets. “That’s what is concerning,” Dreiling said.
CRUDE: Oil and gas companies fared better than the rest of the stock market as the price of oil hit $60 a barrel, the first time it has traded that high since early December. Benchmark U.S. crude was up $1.77 to $60.70 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
EUROPE: Major markets in Europe traded lower. France’s CAC-40 sank 1.8 percent, while Germany’s DAX fell 2.1 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.5 percent. European government bond prices also fell, sending yields higher.
BETTER: Investors reacted with caution to the news that the European Union had nudged up its growth forecast for the 19-country eurozone this year. The EU kept unchanged its forecast for 2016 and noted that the economy in Greece is predicted to take a dive this year. Greece is struggling to agree with creditors on a new plan to get bailout loans, and the uncertainty is eroding confidence in its economy.
ASIA’S DAY: The Shanghai Composite Index in mainland China had its worst day in months, losing 4.1 percent, in turn dragging down Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 1.3 percent. Markets in Japan, South Korea and Thailand were shut for holidays.
CHINA: Investor sentiment was hit by worries that the Chinese government might take more measures to cool down the massive rally in that country’s stock market, which has doubled over the last year.
BONDS & CURRENCIES: U.S. government bond prices fell, sending the yield on the 10-year Treasury note up to 2.18 percent from 2.15 percent the day before. The dollar strengthened to 120.37 yen from 120.11 yen, though volumes were light with trading in Tokyo closed. The euro fell to $1.1124 from $1.1147.
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