Financials lift the S&P 500 – New York Report
US STOCKS ended flat yesterday though the S&P 500 snapped three days of losses as financial and consumer staples shares bounced.
Shares of biotech companies were among the biggest drags, including Biogen, down 1.1 per cent at $382. The Nasdaq Biotech Index was down 0.7 per cent.
The S&P financials were up 0.3 per cent, helped by prospects for higher interest rates, and S&P consumer staples rose 0.5 per cent.
Another batch of strong economic data underscored views that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates in September. US job openings surged to a record high in April and small business confidence increased in May,
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 2.51 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 17,764.04, the S&P 500 gained 0.87 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 2,080.15 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 7.76 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 5,013.87.