Oil prices dip Monday morning to just over $39 a barrel
NEW YORK _ Stocks are wavering between small gains and losses Monday. Energy companies are falling as oil prices decline, while media companies and other consumer stocks are rising. Hotel chains Starwood and Marriott are climbing again as Marriott and Chinese insurance company Anbang Insurance Group continue to try to buy Starwood.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average rose seven points to 17,522 as of 12:10 p.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index held steady at 2,035. The Nasdaq composite index sank seven points, or 0.2 per cent, to 4,766.
ALL STARWOOD: The bidding for the Starwood Hotel chain continued as a group of investors led by China’s Anbang Insurance Group offered to buy the company for $88.66 a share, or more than $15 billion. Starwood said the offer looks better than the latest bid from rival Marriott. Starwood added $1.98, or 2.4 per cent, to $84.11 and Marriott gained $2.77, or 4 per cent, to $71.41.
NO TO NOBLE: Noble Energy is slumping after Israel’s Supreme Court struck down a deal that would have given Noble and other companies the right to start pumping natural gas from offshore deposits. The stock shed $2.44, or 7.5 per cent, to $29.90.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude fell 37 cents to $39.09 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost 47 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to $40.56 a barrel in London. The price of heating oil fell almost 2 per cent to $1.18 a gallon.
Devon Energy gave up $1.04, or 3.9 per cent, to $25.43 and Hess declined $1.46, or 2.8 per cent, to $50.64.
PANDORA’S BOX: Pandora is skidding after the streaming music company announced a management shakeup. Co-founder Tim Westergren will replace Brian McAndrews as CEO. The stock tumbled $1.09, or 10 per cent, to $9.84.
MAKING UP: Cosmetics giant Avon Products said it reached a deal with activist investors that headed off a possible proxy fight. Avon named Cathy Ross, a former executive with FedEx Express, to its board through an agreement with Barington Capital. Avon stock rose 39 cents, or 9.1 per cent, to $4.67.
SUPER BOX OFFICE: Time Warner climbed after a strong opening weekend for “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.” Despite weak reviews from critics and some skepticism from fans, the movie brought in about $424 million worldwide, including $170 million in the U.S. That was one of the best opening weekends of all time and a good sign for Time Warner’s planned series of movies based on DC Comics characters.
Time Warner rose $2.04, or 2.9 per cent, to $72.05.
CONSUMER STOCKS: Time Warner led consumer stocks, including media companies, higher. Netflix rose $2.60, or 2.6 per cent, to $100.96 and Disney added 98 cents to $98.20. Starwood and Marriott also contributed to the sector’s gains. The Commerce Department said consumer spending continued to grow in February, but only by a small amount. Still, economists think consumer spending will grow at a faster pace as the year progresses.
RELIEF: Gilead Sciences rose $2.04, or 2.2 per cent, to $93.36. On Friday a jury ordered Gilead to pay $200 million to rival Merck in a dispute over the patents protecting hepatitis C drugs. Merck had sought billions of dollars in damages.
CONSUMER SPENDING: The Commerce Department said consumer spending continued to grow in February, but for the third straight month, it rose by a small amount. Still, economists think consumer spending will grow at a faster pace as the year progresses.
OVERSEAS: Asian stocks were mostly lower Monday after Chinese industrial profits rebounded and U.S. economic growth was stronger than expected. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.7 per cent. Seoul’s Kospi edged down 0.1 per cent. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.8 per cent. European markets were closed for the Easter holiday.
BONDS, CURRENCIES: Bond prices increased and the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note dipped to 1.87 per cent from 1.91 per cent. The euro rose to $1.1208 from $1.1177 late Thursday. The dollar rose to 113.30 yen from 112.81 yen.
The Canadian Press