Stocks fade down the stretch as oil price swoon continues
Stocks erased most of their earlier gains to finish mixed, with the Dow dipping into the red while the S&P added 0.2% and the small-cap Russell 2000 jumped 1.2%.
Intraday strength began fading shortly after noon as crude oil plunged into the pit close; Nymex crude fell 4.6% to settle at $81.84/bbl, its lowest settlement since June 2012 and dragging the energy sector (-1.2%) down with it and extended sector losses this month to 10.9%.
The financial sector jumped out to a quick start following earnings reports from Citigroup (+3.2%), JPMorgan Chase (-0.3%) and Wells Fargo (-2.7%), but lost much of their advance.
Participation was well above average, with more than 940M shares changing hands at the NYSE floor.
Treasurys finished strong, sending the yield on the benchmark 10-year note down to 2.206%, its lowest closing level since June 2013, and the 30-year yield to 2.957%, a 17-month low; meanwhile, the yield on the 10-year German government bond settled at a record low of 0.837%.
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