U.S. Stocks Close Lower, Snap S&P 500’s 3-Day Winning Streak

Energy companies led U.S. stocks slightly lower Monday as the price of crude oil declined, snapping a three-day winning streak for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index.

Phone company and real estate stocks were also among the big decliners. Technology and industrial companies eked out tiny gains.

Investors are continuing to focus on company earnings reports this week as they size up the health of Corporate America.

With just over half of all the companies in the S&P 500 having reported quarterly results, most have posted annual earnings growth. But that hasn’t been enough to significantly move the stock market, which remains at near-record levels.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 19.04 points, or 0.1 percent, to 20,052.42. The S&P 500 index slid 4.86 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,292.56. The Nasdaq composite index gave up 3.21 points, or 0.1 percent, to 5,663.55. On Friday the Nasdaq closed at a record high and the S&P 500 came within a point of its own all-time high.

The major stock indexes were headed lower from the start of trading Monday. They drifted a bit early on, but remained in the red most of the day.

Disappointing results and outlooks from several companies put traders in a selling mood.

Newell Brands slid 5.7 percent after the maker of Rubbermaid, Sharpie, Elmer’s Glue and other products reported disappointing sales and issued a full-year sales forecast that fell far short of analysts’ estimates. The company said the strong dollar and fewer people shopping at malls hurt sales of some key products. The stock gave up $2.66 to $44.23.

News of an executive shake-up at Tiffany & Co. sent shares in the jewelry company lower.

CEO Frederic Cumenal had stepped down on Sunday amid concerns about the company’s financial performance. Tiffany shed $1.98, or 2.5 percent, to $78.49.

Energy futures were broadly lower, weighing on oil and gas companies.

Benchmark U.S. crude fell 82 cents, or 1.5 percent, to close at $53.01 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost $1.09, or 1.9 percent, to $55.72 a barrel in London.

In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline fell 4 cents to $1.51 a gallon, while heating oil slid 3 cents to $1.64 a gallon. Natural gas futures slipped a penny to $3.05 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Offshore drilling services company Transocean fell 43 cents, or 3.1 percent, to $13.54. Devon Energy slid $1.52, or 3.2 percent, to $45.27, while Chesapeake Energy dipped 19 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $6.38.

Major stock indexes in Europe closed lower Monday.

Germany’s DAX fell 1.2 percent, while France’s CAC 40 slid 1 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 edged 0.2 percent lower. Earlier in Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.3 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.0 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost earlier gains and inched down 0.1 percent. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.2 percent. Benchmarks were also higher in Taiwan and Singapore.

Bond prices rose. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 2.42 percent from 2.47 percent late Friday.

The euro fell to $1.0748 from $1.0765 on Friday. The dollar slipped to 111.83 yen from 112.96 yen.

Among metals, the price of gold rose $11.30 to $1,232.10 an ounce. Silver added 21 cents to $17.69 an ounce. Copper rose 4 cents to $2.65 a pound.