NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Dow and S&P fell modestly on Monday, ending well off session lows, as gains in energy shares helped curb declines stemming from trade war concerns after China’s retaliation to U.S. tariffs.
U.S. President Donald Trump said last week he was pushing ahead with tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese imports, prompting a quick response from Beijing, which said it would put duties on several American commodities.
Boeing, which has acted as a proxy for trade war tensions with China as it is the single largest U.S. exporter to the country, fell 0.9 percent as the biggest drag on the Dow. Construction equipment maker Caterpillar declined 0.9 percent.
Chipmakers, which rely on China for a large portion of their revenue, also lost ground. The PHLX semiconductor index lost 0.99 percent, its worst daily performance in a month. Intel, off 3.4 percent, was the biggest drag on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq on tariff concerns and a downgrade by Northland Securities.
“You are seeing the trade narratives hammered, or at least running into some significant headwinds and as a result you are seeing compression in valuations there,” said Peter Kenny, senior market strategist at Global Markets Advisory Group, in New York.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 103.01 points, or 0.41 percent, to 24,987.47, the S&P 500 lost 5.79 points, or 0.21 percent, to 2,773.87 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.65 points, or 0.01 percent, to 7,747.03.
Oil prices advanced in volatile trade as market participants lowered their expectations for how much OPEC might increase production. Even with the anticipated increase, Goldman Sachs maintained its bullish outlook on the oil market.
The S&P energy index rose 1.1 percent for its first gain in five sessions. The index was boosted by
