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US close: Stocks slip from record ground as oil price, Bannon 'summons' hit sentiment
US stocks failed to stay in record territory on Tuesday as lower oil prices hit energy stocks and investors reacted to news that President Donald Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon had reportedly been subpoenaed as part of the probe into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average set a fresh intraday record, breaching 26,000 for the first time, but closed 10 points lower at 25,793. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were down 0.35% and 0.51% at 2,777 and 7,234 respectively.
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.67% to $63.87, while Brent crude was 1.32% lower at $69.33.
The positive early sentiment was underpinned by earnings from the likes of Citigroup and UnitedHealth.
In corporate news, Citigroup rose following the bank's quarterly earnings. Although it posted an $18.3bn loss for the last three months of 2017 due to a $22bn accounting charge, investors welcomed news that it was sticking to its promise to pay out at least $60bn to shareholders over three years.
Long Blockchain rallied after announcing that it has entered into a letter of intent to be bought by Slater Blockchain in an all-share deal.
Merck finished higher after a trial showed that its Keytruda drug in combination with two other chemotherapy drugs was successful as a first-line treatment for lung cancer.
GM was in the black even as it said 2018 earnings are likely to be flat, with higher profit expected the year after, while UnitedHealth rose in after the insurer's quarterly earnings beat expectations.
US-listed shares of BP clawed back losses after being down 3% and managed to buck the market trend, despite the oil giant reporting that it expects to take a post-tax non-operating charge of around $1.7bn in the fourth quarter as part of the class action settlement of the disastrous Deepwater Horizon oil well spill in the US in 2010.
Shares in USA Compression edged higher as it said it will buy Energy Transfer Partner LP's compression business in a $1.8bn deal.Going the other way, General Electric lost ground after saying that a review of GE Capital's insurance portfolio would result in a $6.2bn after-tax charge in the fourth quarter.
Car retailer AutoNation fell after saying it will use savings from the new US tax system towards retirement and cancer benefits for employees.
On the macroeconomic front, results of a widely-followed regional gauge showed factory sector activity in the jurisdiction of the Federal Reserve bank of New York cooled a tad in January.
The Empire State index slipped from a reading of 19.6 for December to 17.7 in January, versus economists' forecasts for a reading of 18.5.
Sub-indices linked to new orders and shipments fell by 7.1 and 9.1 points each to 11.9 and 14.4, respectively. Meanwhile, a gauge referencing levels of staffing dropped by 19.1 points to 3.8. On the flip side, a sub-index tracking inventory levels jumped by 12.4 points to reach 13.8.
Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: "On the face of it, these data suggest that the national ISM manufacture index will drop to about 57.5 from 59.7, but we think the Empire State numbers likely overstate the impact of the weather on the national picture. In any event, we see no reason to expect any sustained weakening in the manufacturing surveys."
Dow Jones - Risers
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $62.07 5.81%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $233.29 2.03%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $147.07 0.90%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $46.53 0.82%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $90.22 0.68%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $100.68 0.66%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $135.51 0.58%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $258.46 0.56%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $163.83 0.42%
Visa Inc. (V) $120.39 0.25%
Dow Jones - Fallers
General Electric Co. (GE) $18.21 -2.93%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $63.41 -1.95%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $133.98 -1.90%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $110.68 -1.59%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $88.35 -1.40%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $132.01 -1.19%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $51.66 -0.86%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $40.54 -0.81%
American Express Co. (AXP) $100.34 -0.62%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $74.96 -0.60%
S&P 500 - Risers
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $62.07 5.81%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $68.25 4.39%
Equinix, Inc. (EQIX) $448.10 2.79%
McKesson Corp. (MCK) $170.65 2.65%
Flowserve Corp. (FLS) $45.05 2.39%
AbbVie Inc (ABBV) $102.44 2.09%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $233.29 2.03%
Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) $46.44 2.03%
American Tower Corp (Reit) (AMT) $135.62 1.97%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $54.50 1.96%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Under Armour Inc. Class A (UAA) $13.81 -8.63%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $31.38 -7.05%
Alliance Data Systems Corp. (ADS) $258.07 -6.62%
CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $40.71 -6.46%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $11.47 -6.02%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $7.82 -5.78%
Mosaic Company (MOS) $25.68 -5.66%
Unum Group (UNM) $55.56 -5.18%
Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) $59.91 -4.62%
Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $16.79 -4.49%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $68.25 4.39%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $186.38 3.05%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $263.88 2.11%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $54.50 1.96%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $168.73 1.93%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $257.78 1.87%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $78.64 1.67%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $176.10 1.65%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $76.04 1.60%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $80.25 1.56%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $111.98 -3.39%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $27.86 -3.31%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $80.87 -3.24%
Cerner Corp. (CERN) $70.62 -3.13%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $47.99 -3.01%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $113.96 -2.85%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $91.65 -2.57%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $110.09 -2.49%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $68.70 -2.36%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $322.08 -2.05%