September 22, 2009
Wall Street pared early losses and traded mixed Monday, as markets around the globe paused from a recent rally.
Commodities like oil and gold retreated, as the dollar touched higher. The Crude dipped below 70 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, which weighed on energy stocks.
Fertilizer shares also led the market lower, after Potash Corp., the largest fertilizer maker by capacity, cut its full-year profit forecast amid a slump in demand.
On economic news, the Conference Board said its index of leading economic indicators rose 0.6 percent in August. The reading, which is meant to project economic activity in the next three to six months, slightly trailed estimates.
Meanwhile, investors also took the potential threat of inflation into consideration. They are waiting to see what The Federal Reserve will say this week during its two-day meeting, which begins Tuesday.
The Dow Jones fell 34.31 to 9,785.89. Broader indexes went mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 3.81 to 1,064.49 and the Nasdaq added 3.82 to 2,136.68.