Stocks slide as oil hits 7-year high
West Texas Intermediate crude oil briefly topped $82 a barrel
Beverly Goodman advises investors to look at high yield municipal bond fund
Barron’s editorial director suggests with the tax increase, investor should pay attention to high yield munis
U.S. stock indexes closed on session lows as oil prices hit a seven-year high and financials weighed on the S&P 500 ahead of key earnings later this week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 249 points or 0.72%, while the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite index declined 0.69% and 0.64%, respectively. The Dow had gained 205 points at its best levels of the day. Trading was light as the U.S. Treasury market was closed for Columbus Day.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 43870.35 | +461.88 | +1.06% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5948.71 | +31.60 | +0.53% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 18972.420086 | +6.28 | +0.03% |
In stocks, Diamondback Energy Inc., ExxonMobil Corp. and Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. were among the energy companies in focus as West Texas Intermediate crude soared $1.17 to $80.52 a barrel. The energy component early on Monday briefly topped $82, hitting a 7-year high.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FANG | DIAMONDBACK ENERGY INC. | 182.70 | +1.24 | +0.68% |
| XOM | EXXON MOBIL CORP. | 121.91 | +1.56 | +1.29% |
| CTRA | COTERRA ENERGY INC. | 27.44 | +0.61 | +2.27% |
| CVX | CHEVRON CORP. | 161.63 | +0.30 | +0.19% |
Elsewhere in the space, Chevron Corp. announced it would target zero net emissions for some upstream gas emissions by 2050. A number of other energy companies have already announced plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Meanwhile, financials including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. traded lower ahead of earnings due later this week.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPM | JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. | 244.76 | +3.98 | +1.65% |
| GS | THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC. | 596.11 | +14.18 | +2.44% |
| WFC | WELLS FARGO & CO. | 74.83 | +1.25 | +1.70% |
Southwest Airlines Co. blamed air traffic control problems, bad weather in Florida and staff shortages for more than 1,600 flights being canceled over the weekend.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LUV | SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO. | 31.79 | +0.02 | +0.06% |
Merck & Co. said it has applied for emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 tablet. If approved, the drug would be the first oral antiviral drug for the disease.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MRK | MERCK & CO. INC. | 99.86 | +2.42 | +2.48% |
Honeywell International Inc. raised its business jet delivery forecast for 2022 to 2031 by 1% to 7,400 planes worth $238 billion.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HON | HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC. | 226.09 | -0.58 | -0.26% |
Overseas markets were mixed.
European trading was choppy with Britain’s FTSE 100 up 0.72% and France’s CAC 40 ticking higher by 0.16% while Germany’s DAX 30 slipped 0.05%.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
In Asia, China’s Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.01%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.6% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 1.96%.