US Stocks Close Lower As Oil Prices Surge On Renewed West Asia Tensions

NEW YORK, April 21 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- United States (US) stocks ended slightly lower on Monday, with modest declines across major benchmarks as investors monitored rising oil prices amid renewed uncertainty in West Asia, Xinhua reported.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.01 per cent to 49,442.56. The S&P 500 sank 0.24 per cent to 7,109.14. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.26 per cent to 24,404.39.

Six of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors closed higher, led by materials and financials with gains of 0.56 per cent and 0.34 per cent, respectively. Communication services and health care were the main laggards, declining 1.41 per cent and 0.93 per cent, respectively.

Traders remain cautious about pricing in a worst-case scenario for the ongoing conflict, even as stocks have recovered from near-correction territory to all-time highs in recent weeks.

Oil prices jumped sharply on Monday. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery surged 6.87 per cent to settle at US$89.61 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for June delivery gained 5.64 per cent to settle at US$95.48 per barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

While investors continue to monitor developments in the Middle East, attention is expected to gradually shift back to fundamental factors, according to Scott Welch, chief investment officer at Certuity.

"It is important to remember that the market was not cheap before the war started, and the recent rally has only brought us back slightly past breakeven for the year," he said. "We expect investors will soon once again turn their attention to more fundamental issues – valuations, earnings potential, inflation, the economy, the labour markets, and Fed policy."

Shares of most of the "Magnificent Seven" technology giants ended lower on Monday. Tesla, which is scheduled to report quarterly results on Wednesday, declined 2.03 per cent.

Marvell Technology rose nearly 6 per cent to an all-time high after a report over the weekend said the chipmaker was in talks to design new custom artificial intelligence chips for Google. 

-- BERNAMA-XINHUA