Markets Right Now: Banks, energy stocks pull indexes lower

NEW YORK – The latest on developments in financial markets (all times local):

4 p.m.

Stocks are closing lower on Wall Street as a slide in banks and energy companies offsets solid gains for the technology sector.

Homebuilders also declined Thursday following new data showing sales of new homes slumped in July. Lennar fell 1.5 per cent.

Hormel Foods, which makes Spam and other products, fell 3.1 per cent after cutting its outlook, partly because of uncertainty around trade.

The S&P 500 index fell 4 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 2,856.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 76 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 25,656. The Nasdaq composite slipped 10 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 7,878.

Bond prices didn’t move much. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note held steady at 2.82 per cent.

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11:45 a.m.

Stocks veered lower on Wall Street as losses in banks and energy companies offset gains elsewhere in the market.

Goldman Sachs fell 1.2 per cent Thursday, and Concho Resources lost 2 per cent.

Homebuilders declined following new data showing sales of new U.S. homes slumped in July. Lennar fell 1.7 per cent.

Technology stocks moved higher, adding to recent gains.

Investors had their eye on trade as the U.S. and China rolled out more tariffs on each other, escalating their trade dispute even as representatives from both nations held their first high-level talks in two months.

The S&P 500 index fell 4 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 2,857.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 91 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 25,641. The Nasdaq composite slipped 7 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 7,881.

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9:35 a.m.

Stocks are off to a mostly lower start on Wall Street as losses in energy and health care companies offset gains in technology.

Exxon Mobil fell 1 per cent in early trading Thursday, and drugmaker Celgene fell 1.4 per cent.

Spam maker Hormel Foods sank 3.4 per cent after cutting its sales outlook.

Williams-Sonoma jumped 10.5 per cent after reporting results that beat estimates.

The S&P 500 index fell a fraction of a point to 2,861.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 46 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 25,688. The Nasdaq composite rose 15 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 7,905.

Bond prices didn’t move much. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note held steady at 2.82 per cent.