Stock Market Close: Stocks Fall On Saudi Oil Worries

U.S. stocks skittered Monday on worries stemming from the weekend attack on Saudi oil facilities, wiping out half of Aramco’s daily output despite surging prices for energy issues.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 142.7 points or 0.52%. The S&P 500 was off 0.31% and the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.28%. Volume on the New York Stock Exchange was 3.7 billion shares with 1,599 issues advancing and 1.356 declining.

Encana Corp. (ECA) topped the most actives list, followed by Whiting Petroleum Corp. (WLL) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). Rounding out the top five were Alder BioPharmaceuticals Inc. (ALDR) and Transocean Ltd. (RIG).

Airline stocks proved a drag on the market. United Airlines ( UAL) was off 2.84%, American Airlines ( AAL) slid 1.44% and Delta Airlines ( DAL) dropped 1.57%. Cruise lines didn’t fare any better. Carnival Corp. (CCL) was off 3.22%

Oil futures posted record intraday highs, up as much as 20%. But when the dust settled, crude oil futures were up 12.93% but Brent crude was off 1.38%.

A drone strike against a Saudi oil facility raised the specter of further Middle East destabilization, sending oil prices soaring. The Saudis said half of the lost output, which represents about 5% of the world’s supply, likely would be restored Monday but there was no timetable for full restoration. President Trump OKd the release of U.S. reserves to keep U.S. supplies stable.

Though Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the drone strike, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blamed it on Iran and Trump said the United States was poised to retaliate. Tehran denied it was responsible.

In other news, GM workers staged their first strike in a dozen years as negotiations on a pattern contract for the industry stalled. The current agreement expired at 12:01 a.m. Sunday. The United Autoworkers is demanding greater compensation for the sacrifices members have made in recent years. GM offered $7 billion in investments in eight domestic plants and more than 5,400 new jobs. The UAW is seeking wages of nearly $30 an hour for entry-level employees within three to four years, which could cost GM $50 million.

OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma filed for bankruptcy protection during the weekend following a tentative agreement to settle lawsuits filed by attorneys general and more than 2,000 cities and counties. The agreement called for Purdue Pharma to be reorganized into a trust that will help fight the opioid crisis.

On international markets, Asian stocks were mixed at the close with Hong Kong’s Heng Seng dropping 0.83%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gaining 1.05% and China’s Shanghai composite was flat, off 0.02%. Australia’s S&P/ASX gained 0.06%.

In Europe, London’s FTSE closed off 0.28%, the German DAX dropped 0.56% and the French CAC 40 lost 0.71%. The British pound was off 0.64% against the dollar while the euro was off 0.63%. The U.S. dollar index was up 0.4%.

Gold and silver futures were higher, closing up 0.39% and 2.17%, respectively. Yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.845%, off 0.054%. The 30-year fell to 2.315%, down 0.58%.