U.S. stocks churned to start the week Monday as investors weighed surging oil prices, economic worries and major earnings results ahead.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed about 110 points, or 0.3%. The S&P 500 ticked down 0.3%. The Nasdaq Composite traded down 0.2%.
“What we’re seeing right now is the market trying to grapple and come to terms with how to interpret all these inputs,” Plexo Capital Managing Partner Lo Toney said on CNBC’s “TechCheck.” “We’re looking at that debate on whether or not the inflationary pressures that we’re seeing truly are transitory … or if we truly are going to see some lasting inflation. …It’s going to take a little bit of time for things to settle out.”
U.S. oil benchmark WTI crude oil topped $81 a barrel. Energy stocks gained earlier in the trading session, but rolled over as oil prices came off their highest level.
Goldman on Monday cut its economic growth forecast. The firm lowered its 2022 growth estimate to 4% from 4.4% and took its 2021 estimate down a tick to 5.6% from 5.7%. The firm cited the expiration of fiscal support from Congress and a slower-than-expected recovery in consumer spending, specifically services.
The U.S. bond market is closed Monday for Columbus Day.
This week, major banks will kick off their third-quarter earnings reports. JPMorgan kicks it off on Wednesday, with Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo and Citigroup following later in the week. Delta Airlines and Walgreens Boots Alliance reports are also on deck.
Analysts estimate an earnings growth rate of 27.6% for the S&P 500 in the third quarter, which would be the third-highest growth rate since 2010.
After a 4.8% loss in September, the S&P 500 is now up nearly 2% for the month of October and sits around 3% from its record.
