Wall Street has closed lower as oil and materials share prices dropped as investors stayed cautious after deadly bombing attacks in Belgium.
The benchmark S&P 500 index fell back into negative territory for the year after closing positive on Friday for the first time in 2016.
US stocks’ fading five-week rally was further diminished by comments over the past two days by Federal Reserve officials, who expressed views that suggested an appetite for more US interest rate hikes than investors had anticipated.
The possibility of more than the two expected rate hikes through December has sent the dollar higher, pushing down commodity prices.
“That’s basically what’s leaning on the market today,” said Peter Cardillo, Chief Market Economist at First Standard Financial in New York. “It’s all about commodities.”
Gold and metals prices fell as the US dollar strengthened.
US oil prices also were also damaged after data showing a rise in US stockpiles last week rekindled worries about a global glut.
Eight of the 10 major S&P sectors were lower, led by a 2.1-per cent fall in the energy sector. Chevron and ConocoPhillips were among the biggest decliners.
Utilities rose 0.7 per cent and was the best performing sector.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 79.98 points, or 0.45 per cent, to 17,502.59, the S&P 500 lost 13.09 points, or 0.64 per cent, to 2,036.71 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 52.80 points, or 1.1 per cent, to 4,768.86.
Adding to the downturn, investors were deterred by the shortened trading week ahead of the Good Friday holiday and uncertainty tied to Tuesday’s bombings in Brussels, Cardillo said.
Earnings weakness has been another concern for investors, with first-quarter S&P 500 earnings forecast to fall 6.9 per cent from a year ago, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Nike shares were down 3.8 per cent at $62.44 after the world’s largest footwear maker reported quarterly revenue below estimates.
Volume was lighter than in recent sessions. About 6.8 billion shares changed hands on US exchanges, compared with the 8.1 billion daily average for the past 20 trading days.
