WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks showed a lack of direction early in the session on Monday but moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day. The major averages all moved to the downside, extending the modest pullback seen during last Friday's session.
The S&P 500 ended the day near its lows of the session, down 40.70 points or 0.5 percent at 7,745.06, pulling back further off the record closing high set last Thursday.
The narrower Dow also slid 272.63 points or 0.5 percent to 53,459.78, while the Nasdaq fell 84.25 points or 0.3 percent to 26,644.91.
The weakness that emerged on Wall Street came as the price of crude oil moved sharply higher amid concerns about a re-escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, with U.S. crude oil futures surging by more than 2 percent.
Crude oil futures spiked amid indications Iran has ruled out talks with the U.S. to extend a 60-day ceasefire that expires today.
'We did not start any negotiations at all, and the U.S. violated the understanding from the very beginning; therefore, the 60-day issue is not relevant,' Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said, according to state news agency Tasnim.
Adding to worries about a broader conflict, President Donald Trump threatened to bomb Oman during an interview with Fox News, warning, 'If Oman gets in the way, we'll bomb the s--- out of them.'
Trump's threat comes as Iran and Oman appear to be moving closer to an understanding over the management of the Strait of Hormuz.
Sector News
Airline stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the session amid the surge in crude oil prices, dragging the NYSE Arca Airline Index down by 2.8 percent.
Substantial weakness was also visible among software stocks, as reflected by the 2.7 percent plunge by the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index.
Telecom, computer hardware and housing stocks also saw considerable weakness, while oil producer, biotechnology and semiconductor stocks showed strong moves to the upside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index climbed by 0.7 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index jumped by 1.4 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.7 percent, the German DAX Index declined by 0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.3 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries came under pressure amid the sharp increase by the price of crude oil. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, climbed 2.8 basis points to 4.724 percent.
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