New York, NY, United States (AHN) – U.S. markets snapped last week’s winning streak, closing Monday with modest losses on light volume as investors await interest rate comments from the Federal Reserve later in the week.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is due to speak on Wednesday and Thursday where investors hope to get answers on the central banks unexpected bump to the discount rate last week.
The Dow Jones Industrial average dipped 19 points or 0.2 percent as a late sell-off pushed the average negative. 20 of 30 Dow components finished the session lower. However, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) bucked the trend, rising 2.1 percent, following news that a settlement had been approved by a federal judge, ending a lawsuit the SEC had filed against the bank over actions during the Merrill Lynch merger.
The S&P 500 finished slightly negative, down 1 point. Financials were strong, adding 1.1 percent, helping offset weakness in the energy sector.
The Nasdaq Composite also dipped into negative territory right before the closing bell, finishing down 2 points on the day. Netflix (NSDQ: NFLX) was a tech laggard, down 2.1 percent as news hit that Wal-Mart is buying rival movie service Vudu, putting the world’s largest retailer in direct competition with Netflix.
In corporate news, a large merger and acquisition announcement hit the wires Monday with oil giant Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB) set to buy Smith International in a cash and stock deal worth north of $11 billion.
Crude oil continued its recent rally, settling at $80.27 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
On the earnings front, Lowe’s Cos (NYSE: LOW), the nation’s second largest home improvement chain, said earnings rose to 14 cents a share in the fourth quarter on 2 percent sales growth.
Tuesday’s market will see the release of Consumer Confidence for February with expectations for a reading of 55, down slightly from 55.9 in January.