Investing.com -- U.S. stocks were mixed on Monday in quiet, restrained trade as a surge in health care stocks offset losses in the materials and energy sectors, amid declines in global oil prices.
In Monday's session, both WTI and brent crude futures dipped more than 2% to close below $44 a barrel as wildfires continued to rage on throughout Western Canada. Although oil facilities in the region were not damaged by the storms, approximately 1 million barrels or one-third of the nation's total daily production had been taken offline, as of Monday afternoon. Although Canadian officials warned that the storms could potentially last well into the summer, investors on Monday also re-evaluated the long-term impact of the natural disaster on global oil prices. At current levels, daily production in Canada represents less than 5% of the world's total output.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 34.22 or 0.20% to 17,705.91 paring gains from earlier in the session, while the NASDAQ Composite index added 14.05 or 0.30% to 4,750.21, as health care stocks bolstered the overall index. The S&P 500 Composite index, meanwhile, inched up 1.55 or 0.08% to 2,058.69, as stocks in five of 10 sectors closed in the green. Stocks in the Health Care, Utilities and Consumer Services industries led, while stocks in the Energy and Basic Materials sectors lagged, each falling by more than 1%.
The top performer on the Dow was Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT), which added 0.70 or 1.03% to 68.95, as investors continued to digest reports from last week that the world's largest retailer plans to hire nearly 10,000 new greeters to its front of the store operations. It comes as part of a larger plan by Walmart (NYSE:WMT) to steadily increase wages for thousands of workers throughout the U.S. The worst performer was Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), which fell 2.58 or 3.52% to 70.78, as gold futures crashed more than 2% on Monday, suffering their worst one-day loss in more than two months. Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), the world's largest construction manufacturer, is sensitive to major losses in global commodity prices.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc (NASDAQ:BMRN) which added 3.18 or 3.94% to 83.98. Overall, pharmaceutical stocks dominated the NASDAQ on Monday, as Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:VRTX), Mylan (NASDAQ:MYL) and Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB) all surged more than 2%. The worst performer was Chinese e-commerce company Jd.Com Inc Adr (NASDAQ:JD), which fell 1.77 or 7.02% to 23.43. Shares on the Shanghai Composite index slid more than 2%, ahead of the release of critical consumer and producer price data on Tuesday.
The top performer was Allergan Plc (NYSE:AGN), which soared 12.44 or 6.17% to 214.09. Shares in Allergan popped on Monday after Teva Pharmaceuticals indicated that its proposed $40.5 billion acquisition of Allergan's generic business could be completed by the end of June. The worst performer was Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc (NYSE:FCX), which slumped 1.28 or 10.86% to 10.51, amid the massive sell-off in gold futures.
Shares in Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc (NYSE:KKD) surged more than 24% to 20.96 after the doughnut chain agreed to be taken private by Luxembourg-based JAB Holding for $1.35 billion.
On the New York Stock Exchange, declining issues outnumbered advancing ones by a 1,628-1,420 margin.