Page 25 - ARUBA TODAY

BUSINESS Thursday 7 November 2019
A25

Stock indexes hit pause, hold close to record levels

By STAN CHOE With only 20% of its com-
Associated Press panies still waiting to re-
NEW YORK (AP) — Stock in- port, the S&P 500 index is
dexes held close to their re- on track to report a drop
cord heights in Wednesday of 2.6% in earnings from a
afternoon trading as strong year earlier, according to
gains for health care com- FactSet. That's not as bad
panies helped make up as the 4% decline that ana-
for sharp drops in energy lysts initially estimated.
stocks. PAIN AT THE PUMP: Energy
The market took a quick stocks sank to the market's
turn lower in the middle worst losses, down 2.1% af-
of the day after a report ter the price of benchmark
from Reuters said the Unit- U.S. crude slumped 1.5%.
ed States and China may Exxon Mobil lost 2.2%, and
delay signing "phase one" oilfield services provider
of their trade deal until Schlumberger fell 3.1%. Oc-
December, but the drop cidental Petroleum tum-
didn't last long. bled 5.1%.
The S&P 500 was slightly TECH TANGO: HP surged
higher for the day when 9.4% for one of the biggest
the report was released In this Oct. 30, 2019, file photo trader Sal Suarino works on the floor of the New York Stock Ex- gains in the S&P 500 after
and quickly sank 0.3%, but change. The Wall Street Journal re-
it erased the loss within Associated Press ported Xerox Holdings is
about two hours. hinge in large part on the is the economy absorbing Average was close to flat targeting it for a buyout.
The U.S.-China trade war economy, and a worsen- the rise in interest rates that at 27,492, and the Nasdaq Xerox has been struggling
has been a top concern for ing trade war would only we experienced in 2018." composite was down 0.3%. as consumers increasingly
investors since early 2018, sour it. Early next year, the econ- HEALTHY RETURNS: Health use digital documents in-
and momentum has re- Mills is optimistic the econ- omy should start to get a care stocks climbed to the stead of paper.
cently been tilting toward omy will show more life boost from the Fed's three strongest gains, up 0.6% for YIELDS: Treasury yields
at least a partial agree- after the Federal Reserve rate cuts since the summer, the biggest gain among dipped, putting at least
ment. That, combined with cut interest rates three "and I would expect the the 11 sectors that make a temporary halt to the
encouraging reports on times this year, if trade ten- market to see the recession up the S&P 500. strong gains they've made
the economy and corpo- sions continue to ratchet narrative as overblown," he CVS Health helped lead this month. The yield on
rate profits, have recently lower. It would be a sharp said. the way with a 4.9% gain the 10-year Treasury fell to
propelled U.S. indexes past turnaround from just a few "Trade is a key issue but it's after it reported a stronger 1.80% from 1.86% late Tues-
their prior peaks from July months ago, when worries difficult to gain an edge profit for the latest quarter day.
to all-time highs. were spiking that Trump's because no deal has been than analysts expected DEFENSE WINS: The drop in
While acknowledging that trade war and four interest- signed," said Tom Hainlin, and raised its forecast for Treasurys yields made the
trade talks could easily fal- rate increases by the Fed- national investment strat- the year. Humana jumped big dividends paid by utility
ter again, Jeff Mills, chief eral Reserve in 2018 could egist at U.S. Bank Wealth 4% after it also turned in and real-estate stocks more
investment officer at Bryn tip the economy into a re- Management. "It's proving a better-than-expected attractive. These stocks are
Mawr Trust, said both sides cession. to be challenging for inves- earnings report. often called "defensive" in-
have an incentive to come "People know this intellec- tors." Stocks across the S&P 500 vestments on Wall Street
to a deal. China's econom- tually but tend not to focus KEEPING SCORE: The S&P have been reporting bet- because they tend to hold
ic growth has slowed under on it: Changes in interest 500 was virtually flat, resting ter earnings for the latest up better than the rest of
the weight of increased rates impact the economy only a couple points below quarter than Wall Street ex- the market when the econ-
U.S. tariffs. President Don- with a significant lag," Mills its record, as of 2:15 p.m. pected. In most cases, that omy is stumbling. They've
ald Trump's chances of re- said. "What we've been Eastern time. meant smaller losses than also been at the head of
election, meanwhile, likely seeing the last year or so The Dow Jones Industrial analysts had forecast. the market for months.q