US stocks closed out April Monday with all three indices slipping lower, helped by weak US consumer spending data and ongoing worries about Spain and the eurozone.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 14.68 points, or 0.11 per cent, at 13,213.63, while the S&P 500 index lost 5.45 (0.39 per cent) to 1,397.91.
Drops by two of the Nasdaq’s biggest companies, Apple and Google, dragged that index down 22.84 (0.74 per cent) to 3,046.36.
Data on US consumer spending released before the opening bell underscored the continued struggle in getting the economy going. Spending growth slowed to 0.3 per cent in March, even as personal income growth picked up to a faster 0.4 per cent month-on-month.
Worries about whether Spain can surmount the problems in its banking system and avoid a new eurozone crisis also clouded trade, after pushing European markets lower – the Euro Stoxx 50 blue-chip market fell 1.6 per cent Monday.
“Once again, the Spanish ulcer is providing cause for concern; anti-austerity protests took place over the weekend and this morning we have had news confirming that Spain slipped back into recession in the first quarter,” said IG Index trader Yusuf Heusen.
A weekend news report outlining how Apple minimised its US taxes with questionable tactics helped push the iPhone maker’s stocks down 3.2 per cent.
Google meanwhile lost 1.7 per cent. A court weighing Oracle’s $US1 billion ($A959.09 million) copyright lawsuit over Google’s possible use of Oracle’s Java code in its Android software sent the case to a jury.
Barnes & Noble shares jumped 51.7 per cent after Microsoft agreed to invest $US300 million ($A287.73 million) in a new unit of the book dealer for digital educational books. In early trade the shares rocketed some 85 per cent.
Microsoft shares rose 0.1 per cent.
Online travel website Expedia gained 5.8 per cent after it beat analyst forecasts in its quarterly earnings and boosted its operating margin.
Shares in petrol station operator Sunoco jumped 20.5 per cent after it sealed a deal to be bought by Energy Transfer Partners for $US5.3 billion ($A5.08 billion) in cash and shares.
Merck was the top gainer among the Dow blue chips, adding 2.0 per cent, after reporting that it had won a suit to protect its patents on its anti-cholesterol drugs Zetia and Vytorin from a potential generic producer of the drugs.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.91 per cent from 1.93 per cent Friday, while the 30-year dipped to 3.11 per cent from 3.12 per cent.
Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
