Investing.com -- U.S. stocks were mixed on Monday, amid a 5% surge in crude future and diverging comments from a pair of influential governors on the Federal Reserve on whether inflation has firmed enough to convince the U.S. central bank to approve further interest rate hikes before the end of June.
On Monday, both WTI and brent crude soared by approximately $2 a barrel extending their considerable rally over the last several weeks. Since falling to 13-year lows of $26.05 a barrel on February 11, U.S. crude futures have rebounded by more than 30%. In Monday's session, the U.S. and international benchmarks of crude traded near their highest levels on the calendar year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 67.18 or 0.40% to 17,073.95, while the NASDAQ Composite index fell 8.77 or 0.19% to 4,708.25, as sharp losses among the so-called FANG stocks weighed. Shares in Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) all fell by more than 2% on Monday, pulling the NASDAQ lower for the first time in five sessions. The S&P 500 Composite index, meanwhile, inched up 1.77 or 0.09% to 2,001.76, as stocks in six of 10 sectors closed in the green. Stocks in the energy industries, led each gaining more than 1.5% on the session.
The top performer on the Dow was Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), which added 2.70 or 3.07% to 90.63. In spite of the considerable gains, Chevron (NYSE:CVX) shares are still down by more than 17% over the last year. The worst performer was Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which tumbled 1.98 or 3.23% to 59.28. Over the weekend, the New York Times reported that a $500,000 bonus from the multinational athletic apparel company to the Kenyan athletics federation was immediately withdrawn and kept off its official books. Nike officials vehemently denied the charges.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ALXN), which added 5.14 or 3.56% to 149.60. Alexion Pharmaceuticals finished just ahead of Whole Foods Market Inc (NASDAQ:WFM), which jumped 1.11 or 3.42% to 33.61 on higher than expected volume. Earlier in the session, analysts from Trade-Ideas LLC identified the natural foods grocer as a "Storm The Castle" stock after the company cleared its 200-day moving average. Companies that are identified as Storm The Castle stocks are typically regarded as ones on the verge of breaking out. Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) closed as the worst performer after reports surfaced that the company has received more than 35,000 petitions to alter a policy that would prevent customers from outside the U.S. to access shows and movies from virtual private networks (VPNs).
The top performer on the S&P 500 was Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO), which soared 3.05 or 12.87% to 26.75, amid heavy short covering. Shares in Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) are still down by more than 60% over the last year. Netflix was also the worst performer on the S&P 500, just below Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ), which fell 5.19 or 3.61% to 138.71. Shares in the Upstate, New York wine company are still up approximately 2.5% since it acquired Balllast Point & Brewing Spirits for $1 billion in mid-November.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones by a 2,052 to 1,043 margin.