WALL Street fell on Monday, hurt by a steep drop oil prices as well as a dip in Apple shares, pushing the S&P 500 back into negative territory for 2015.
The S&P 500 energy sector .SPNY lost 1.79 per cent, easily the poorest performer as a 3 per cent drop in oil prices led investors to unload shares of Exxon Mobil, down 0.73 per cent, and Chevron, which fell 1.84 per cent.
US stock indexes have closely tracked crude prices in the past several weeks.
Following the US Federal Reserve’s first rate hike in almost a decade this month, the S&P 500 is marginally lower for the year and the Dow Jones industrial average is almost 2 per cent weaker, disappointing investors hoping for a last-minute rally.
“The interest rate issue has been settled and markets have incorporated Fed action. But you have energy and tax loss harvesting moving markets back and forth in these last few weeks,” said Tim Courtney, chief investment officer at Exencial Wealth Advisors, which oversees $US1.4billion ($F2.98b) in assets.
