The Dow Industrial Average and S&P 500 closed in the bear for the third consecutive session as the oil prices skid lower and a stronger than expected performance on the private sector employment which helped to boost expectations for an interest rate hike next week.
This marks the first time since the start of the year that the Dow Jones and S&P 500 have closed in a bearish position for three consecutive sessions.
Stocks have raised dramatically since the result of the November 8 U.S. elections. This is partly because investors expected that President Donald Trump would move to put his fiscal policies into immediate action. This includes the sweeping of corporate tax.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 69.03 points, or 0.3% to 20,855.73 with Caterpillar Inc. and Exxon Mobil Crop. and Chevron Corp falling with the most loss within the Index.
The S&P 500 index ended the session 5.41 points or 0.2% at 2,362.98 as a 2.5% drop in energy stocks offset gains in the consumer-discretionary and health-care sectors.
Paycheck-processing firm ADO reported that the private sector added 298,000 jobs in February. A weak number could possible cause possibly alter the expectation for a March hike, with the odds dramatically raising last week as the bevy of the Fed officials signaled their approval for the raising of the interest rates.
Art Hogan, Chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities stated that “We’re starting week off pretty slowly and sideways and I think that the jobs number will end up deciding the direction of this market”