NEW YORK: U.S. stocks slipped in light trading Monday, with the fewest shares changing hands in nearly two months.
A lack of enthusiasm for stocks has plagued the market recently. After a sharp drop and bounceback in the first three months of the year, stocks have plodded along with little fanfare.
The S&P 500 dropped 11% in about the first six weeks of the year and regained those losses by March 18, covering a span of 221 points. The index was roughly flat between March 18 and Monday’s close, trading within a 66-point range.
On Monday, the S&P 500 fluctuated within a band of 8.48 points, the second-narrowest daily trading range for the index in 2016.
Roughly 5.9 billion shares changed hands in the U.S., making it the second-lowest stock-trading volume day of the year. Traders attributed the lack of action to the upcoming holiday weekend and a busy investor conference schedule.
The DUG Permian Basin conference kicked off in Texas on Monday, drawing many oil and gas investors, while the SunTrust Robinson Humphrey Annual Financial Services Conference began in New York. J.P. Morgan’s Global Technology, Media and Telecom Conference is in Boston this week.
The slowness in trading “can be frustrating,” said Justin Wiggs, managing director in equity trading at Stifel Nicolaus, adding that in such times it’s hard to find money managers to take different sides of a trade. “Whether it’s early vacations or conferences, there’s a lack of participants. Guys are on the road.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 8.01 points, or less than 0.1%, to 17492.93 on Monday. The S&P 500 fell 4.28 points, or 0.2%, to 2048.04 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.78 points, or 0.1%, to 4765.78.
U.S. crude oil prices dropped 0.7% to $48.08 a barrel on concerns that recent supply disruptions could soon end.
Bayer fell 5.7% in Frankfurt after the German pharmaceutical and chemicals giant said it had made an all-cash offer to acquire Monsanto for $62 billion. Monsanto rose $4.48, or 4.4%, to $106.00 in New York, and materials shares were the biggest gainers in the S&P 500, adding 1.2%.
Freeport-McMoRan shares rose 30 cents, or 2.7%, to 11.38 after the company late Friday formally canceled plans to take its oil-and-gas business public.
Tribune Publishing shares tumbled 2.14, or 15%, to 12.09 after the company rejected a sweetened takeover offer from Gannett and said a billionaire entrepreneur would take a $70 million stake in the company.
Investors also continued to seek clarity on the course of U.S. interest rates.
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard on Monday suggested there were more factors in favor of gradually raising U.S. interest rates than there were for holding steady.
Even as Fed officials indicated the central bank could raise rates in the coming months, investors remain cautious about the health of the U.S. economy.
This week will provide more data points, including new home sales on Tuesday, jobless claims on Thursday and a reading on consumer sentiment on Friday.
Traders said they also will be paying attention to companies reporting earnings this week, many of which could provide clues about the strength of the U.S. consumer. On Tuesday, Best Buy and DSW are scheduled to report their quarterly results, and Costco Wholesale
