Edison International fell another 11.9 per cent as wildfires continue to burn in the territory of its Southern California Edison utility. The utility has said fire agencies are investigating whether its equipment was involved in the ignition of the Hurst fire.
On the winning side of Wall Street were oil-and-gas companies after the price of oil climbed. A barrel of benchmark US crude rose 2.9 per cent to $us78.82, while Brent crude climbed 1.6 per cent to $US81.01. The Biden administration said Friday itโs expanding sanctions against Russiaโs energy industry.
Exxon Mobil gained 2.6 per cent, and Valero Energy jumped 4.9 per cent.
Shares of US Steel rallied 6.1 per cent after the Biden administration pushed back to June the deadline it imposed for the Pittsburgh-based company to unwind its proposed acquisition by Japanโs Nippon Steel.
Intra-Cellular Therapies soared 34.1 per cent after Johnson & Johnson said it would buy the biopharmaceutical company and its treatment for bipolar I and II depression for $132 per share in cash. Johnson & Johnson rose 1.7 per cent.
All told, the S&P 500 added 9.18 points to 5,836.22. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 358.67 to 42,297.12, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 73.53 to 19,088.10.
In the bond market, which has been dictating much of Wall Streetโs action lately, Treasury yields ticked higher.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.78 per cent from 4.76 per cent late Friday. Itโs been climbing relentlessly over the last month, and it was below 3.65 per cent just in September.
The strong reports on the US economy have helped push yields higher. So have worries that tariffs and other policies possibly coming from President-elect Donald Trump could boost inflation along with economic growth.
A report coming on Wednesday could offer the next spark for the bond market. Thatโs when the government will deliver the latest monthly update on inflation that US consumers are feeling. Economists expect it to show inflation accelerated a touch to 2.8 per cent in December from 2.7 per cent in November.
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โRates remain the most important variable for equity market direction,โ according to Michael Wilson and other strategists at Morgan Stanley.
Outside of the inflation data and its effect on interest rates, this upcoming week will also feature earnings reports from Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and other big banks. Theyโre helping to kick off the start of earnings reporting season.
If Treasury yields continue to rise, either stock prices need to fall or companies need to produce bigger profit growth to make up for it.
In stock markets abroad, indexes fell across most of Europe and Asia.
Stocks sank 1 per cent in Hong Kong and 0.2 per cent in Shanghai, even though China reported its exports grew at a faster pace in December than expected. Factories were rushing to fill orders to beat higher tariffs that Trump has threatened to impose once he takes office.
AP
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