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VOL. 39 | NO. 52 | Friday, December 25, 2015
US stocks edge lower, pulling S&P 500 into red for the year
The Associated Press
U.S. stocks veered lower on the last day of the year as the market headed for a sluggish end to 2015. The modest losses in early trading Thursday dragged the Standard & Poor's 500 index back into the red for the year. With dividends included it will have a slight gain.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average fell 99 points, or 0.6 percent, to 17,504 as of 10:12 a.m. Eastern time. The S&P 500 index shed 10 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,052. The Nasdaq composite lost 31 points, or 0.6 percent, to 5,034. Trading was lighter than usual ahead of the New Year's Day holiday.
SECTOR VIEW: All of the 10 sectors in the S&P 500 index were down, led by a 0.9 percent decline in consumer staples stocks, a category that includes Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble. Energy and materials stocks, which have been battered recently as commodities prices sank, fared slightly better than the rest of the market.
OVERSEAS MARKETS: In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 dropped 0.5 percent, putting it down 4.9 percent for the year. France's CAC-40 fared better in 2015, with an 8.5 percent gain after slipping 0.9 percent on Thursday. Germany's main stock market, which was closed Thursday for the holiday, ended the year with a 9.6 percent gain. In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.9 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.1 percent.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude edged up 10 cents to $36.70 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 33 cents to $36.79 a barrel in London.
BONDS AND CURRENCIES: Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.27 percent from 2.30 percent a day earlier. The dollar fell to 120.08 yen from 120.55 yen, while the euro fell to $1.0872 from $1.0924.