United States stocks lower in last session of 2015

The Nasdaq composite lost 28 points, or 0.6 percent, to 5,037.

Nine of the 10 major SP sectors fell on Thursday, led by a 1.43 per cent fall in the technology sector.

Faith in the resilience of the US consumer and the rout in commodities was reflected in the S&P 500’s best and worst performers this year.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 63.89 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 17,539.98, the S&P 500 lost 7.37 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 2,055.99 and the Nasdaq Composite index dropped 19.25 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 5,046.60.

The Dow is down about 1.2 per cent for the year, while the Nasdaq is up almost seven per cent.

Shares on Wall Street are poised for a higher open on the last day of 2015.

“It’s a very uninspiring last trading day to a very soggy year in the markets”, said John Augustine, chief investment officer at Huntington Wealth & Investment Management.

With crude prices losing a third of their value this year under an unprecedented global glut, the energy sector has tumbled 23 percent, its worst annual performance since the global recession.

Benchmark U.S. crude edged up 10 cents to $36.70 a barrel in NY.

Prices fell 3 per cent on Wednesday as crude inventories in the United States rose 2.6 million barrels last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said, echoing high stocks in Europe and Asia. Southwestern Energy led the gainers, adding 56 cents, or 9.2 percent, to $6.88.

OIL PLAY: NuStar Energy gained 3.3 percent on news that the energy company will be part of the first US crude export in 40 years, following a move to lift a ban on exporting USA oil. “But it will be a year when active stock pickers can do well if they pick the right names”. Dogged by weak commodity prices, the FTSE 100 is poised to drastically underperform the rest of Europe with a 4.7% loss as the year winds down.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 posted a 2015 gain of 9.1 percent after advancing 0.3 percent in its final session of the year.

A fourth straight year of gains was on the line for the S&P 500 on Thursday, as oil prices wobbled and investors counted down the remaining hours in a hard year.

The market’s torpor is likely to be broken next week as investors will return from the holiday to a swath of data, including gauges on the manufacturing and services industries, the monthly jobs report and minutes from the Fed meeting that ended with the first rate increase since 2006. Gold rose $40 cents to $1,060.20 an ounce, silver fell 4 cents to $13.80 an ounce and copper slid 1 cent to $2.14 a pound. For the full year, the ICE Dollar Index, a measure of the currency against major rivals, is up 9.1%.

Treasury yields held lower, with the 2-year yield (U.S.:US2Y) around 1.06 percent and the 10-year yield (U.S.:US10Y) near 2.27 percent in the close.

In late NY trading, the euro moved down to 1.0924 dollars from 1.0939 dollars in the previous session.