Falling commodity prices punished materials and energy companies Wednesday, pushing Wall Street’s major stock indexes to a lower close.
Falling commodity prices punished materials and energy companies Wednesday, pushing Wall Street’s major stock indexes to a lower close.
Crude oil lost nearly $2 to $105 a barrel, hurting energy stocks. Peabody Energy fell 3.4 percent, Chevron 1.1 percent and Exxon 0.9 percent.
Materials fell the most among the 10 industry groups in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index. Aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. fell 2.6 percent. The only stock in the Dow Jones industrial average that lost more was heavy equipment maker Caterpillar Inc., which dropped 3.5 percent.
All three major indexes lost a half-percent. The Dow closed down 71.52 points at 13,126.21. The broader S&P 500 index lost 6.98 to 1,405.54. The Nasdaq composite index, heavy with technology stocks, fell 15.39 to 3,104.96.
One bright spot was the strong debut of Annie’s Inc., a company that sells prepared organic foods. In its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Annie’s leapt 89 percent to $35.92. The company, based in Berkeley, Calif., had priced its shares at $19 late Tuesday.
The broad declines came in spite of a government report that orders for durable goods rose strongly last month, a sign businesses continue to invest.
The Commerce Depart-ment said before the market opened that orders for durable goods, which are defined as products expected to last at least three years, rose 2.2 percent in February. Orders for machinery, computers, autos and aircraft led the rise.
The positive economic news reduced demand for U.S. Treasury debt. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 2.21 percent from 2.19 percent before the report. As stocks fell, traders again sought the safety of Treasurys and the yield fell back to 2.20 percent.
Health insurance companies declined more than the broader market as the Supreme Court wrapped up oral arguments in a challenge to President Barack Obama’s massive health care overhaul. Aetna Inc. and Health Net Inc. lost 1 percent; Catalyst Health Solutions fell 1.4 percent.
Insurers lost ground because of tough questions from key justices, a signal to some observers they might strike down the law. Dave Shove, an analyst with BMO Capital Markets, said most people expect the law to help big health insurers by extending coverage to millions more Americans.
“Stocks are following what most people think, which is that these exchanges were going to be a fairly good thing for insurers and bring a bunch of the uninsured in,” Shove said, referring to the health policy exchanges where uninsured people would be able to buy coverage.
Shove said his firm has a contrarian view, namely that the law “is much less disruptive to the marketplace” than many people expect.
Futures for crude, natural gas, heating oil and gasoline all fell Wednesday, with crude leading the way. Oil prices fell after a report suggesting a larger-than-expected jump in U.S. crude supplies, a sign demand remains weak.
If consumers get a break on what they have to pay for energy, that could provide a bump for the U.S. economy.