A slump in energy stocks stymied a rebound in U.S. indexes Tuesday as the price of oil plunged the most in two years.
A slump in energy stocks stymied a rebound in U.S. indexes Tuesday as the price of oil plunged the most in two years.
The decline in oil prices followed forecasts for weaker global demand this year and next, a sign of slowing economic growth. Chevron fell 2 percent, helping to drag down the Dow Jones industrial average in the waning moments of trading.
Even so, corporate earnings provided some encouragement to investors, and most indexes posted modest gains following a three-day slump.
Domino’s Pizza, Citigroup and Johnson &Johnson reported results that were better than analysts expected. The market also got a boost from airline stocks, which rebounded after sliding the day before.
The modest rally provided a breather for investors, who have had a bumpy ride lately. The Standard &Poor’s 500 index has four losses and one gain of more than 1 percent in the last week, a surge in volatility following a mostly quiet summer.
Even before the recent turbulence, stocks have been declining for nearly a month. The S&P 500 index has fallen 6.7 percent since hitting a record high on Sept. 18 as investors worry that economies in Europe and Asia are slowing.
“The bank earnings this morning certainly made people feel a little bit better,” said Joe Peta, managing director at Novus Partners. “For the time being, at least, the panic selling is over.”
The major stock indexes remained in positive territory until the last hour of trading, when they began to fade, threatening to deliver the second last-minute slide in two days.
By the end of the day, the Dow had lost 5.88 points, or 0.04 percent, to 16,315.19.
The S&P 500 index rose 2.96 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,877.70.
The Nasdaq gained 13.52 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,227.17.
The Dow went negative for the year on Friday. It’s now down 1.6 percent for 2014 and 5.6 percent below its September peak. The S&P 500 index is up 1.6 percent for the year.