Weak oil prices, China worries drag Wall Street lower

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped 5.80 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,098.04. Oil has fallen sharply because the finish of June on proof that a global provide glut is constructing on the similar time demand seems to be slowing.

Energy companies in the S&P 500 were the biggest decliners in the index, falling 2 per cent. Oil majors Chevron and Exxon Mobil, which led declines in the Dow industrials Friday, continued to drag the market lower, falling 3.4 per cent and 1.5 per cent, respectively. The Nasdaq composite slipped 12.90 points, or 0.3 percent, to 5,115.38. The Springdale, Arkansas, meat company also cut its profit forecast for the year. The steep decline in oil prices over the last year should act as a driver for spending, many investors say, as consumers direct the money they have saved on gas elsewhere.

In Europe, Greece’s inventory market sank 16 % because it reopened from a month-long shutdown introduced on by the close to collapse of the nation’s monetary system throughout its high-wire bailout negotiations.

CHINA WEAKNESS: Two recent surveys showed China’s giant manufacturing industry weakened in July, suggesting government efforts to stimulate the world’s No. 2 economy aren’t gaining broad traction.

Financial information company Markit said its gauge of manufacturing activity in Greece plummeted in July to the lowest reading ever recorded, despite improvements across the rest of the 19-country eurozone.

The corporate, which owns the Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage model, blamed circumstances within the beef marketplace for its woes, citing excessive cattle prices and “export points” as elements that have been hurting its income. A separate survey confirmed that enterprise and shopper confidence fell for a fifth consecutive month in July to its worst degree since October 2012. Asian shares closed lower on evidence of weakness in Chinese manufacturing.

U.S. factories were a little less busy last month.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 inched down 0.1 percent to 20,524.39 while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.7 percent to 5,719.10.

Nasdaq 100 e-minis remained unchanged, on volume of 17,056 contracts.

Investors are following this month’s economic reports very closely to see if the economy is strengthening sufficiently for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates later this year. On Monday, keystone OPEC member Saudi Arabia said it would soon increase its price for oil by about $1 a barrel, according to Reuters. Treasury prices rose slightly, pushing the 10-year yield down to 2.144 per cent from 2.207 per cent on Friday.