Oil, gold prices help commodities stem tech, financial losses
new york — Most stocks gained Monday as record oil and gold prices spurred a rally in commodity producers, outweighing declines in technology and financial shares.
Exxon Mobil Corp. and Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. helped the Standard & Poor’s 500 index recover from a decline of 0.8 percent and rise for the first time in four days. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Apple Inc. fell after analysts lowered profit estimates.
The S&P 500 swung between gains and losses at least 37 times as a smaller-than-forecast drop in manufacturing offset a decline in construction spending. The S&P 500 added 0.71 point to 1,331.34. The Dow Jones industrial average slid 7.49 to 12,258.9. The Nasdaq composite index lost 12.88 to 2,258.6.
Commodity producers rose as oil climbed to $102.45 a barrel and gold advanced to as high as $992 an ounce.
Exxon added 74 cents to $87.75. ConocoPhillips increased 73 cents to $83.44.
Freeport-McMoRan, the world’s second-largest copper producer, climbed $2.59 to $103.45. Copper futures closed at the highest price ever as global inventories declined and China, the world’s biggest user of the metal, boosted imports. Newmont Mining Corp. rose $1.21 to $52.38.
General Electric Co., Honeywell International Inc. and Danaher Corp. climbed after Deutsche Bank AG analysts said U.S. industrial companies that generate more than half their revenue from abroad may boost earnings by 5 percent during the first quarter as the dollar weakens free credit report without a credit card. The U.S. currency on Monday touched a record low of $1.5275 per euro.
GE added 26 cents to $33.40. Honeywell increased $1.01 to $58.55. Danaher added 11 cents to $74.26.
Northrop Grumman Corp. rose the most since July 2003 after the third-largest U.S. defense contractor and European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co. beat Boeing Co. for an Air Force tanker order. Northrop added $3.96 to $82.57. Boeing lost $2.12 to $80.67.
Exelon Corp., the largest U.S. owner of nuclear power plants, added $2.70 to $77.55. Entergy Corp., the second-biggest, increased $2.71 to $105.45.
Supervalu Inc. rose $1.84, or 7 percent, to $28.09 for the top gain in the S&P 500. The second-biggest U.S. supermarket chain forecast profit for next year that exceeded analysts’ estimates.
Goldman dropped $4.55 to $165.08. Bear Stearns lost $2.54 to $77.32. Lehman fell $2.38 to $48.61. Citigroup Inc. retreated 62 cents to $23.09.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said fourth-quarter profit declined 18 percent on falling insurance rates. Berkshire’s Class A shares lost $3,500, or 2.5 percent, to $136,500.
Apple declined $3.29 to $121.73.
Google dropped $14.16 to $457.02, the lowest in almost a year. EBay slumped 51 cents to $25.85.