Investing.com – Wall Street traded mixed on Monday as investors took profit after all three major indices reached an all-time high at the end of last week but the Dow was unable to hit the psychologically important 20,000 point level, while a nearly 3% plunge in oil prices also dampened risk appetite.
At 11:45AM ET (17:45GMT), the Dow Jones fell 46 points, or 0.23%, the S&P 500 lost 4 points, or 0.19%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite traded up 11 points, or 0.20%.
In a day lacking in any major economic reports, the head of the Federal Reserve (Fed) Bank of Boston Eric Rosengren backed the idea that the U.S. central bank would have to speed up policy tightening this year with respect to the one hike made in 2016 in order to “prevent the economy from dramatically overshooting on both elements of the dual mandate (maximum employment and price stability), which would place the economic recovery at risk.”
Even though Fed officials signaled last December that they could hike rates three times this year, markets were unconvinced, pricing in just two rate hikes during the course of this year, according to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
Still ahead, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart will deliver a speech on monetary policy at 12:40PM ET (17:40GMT).
The dollar traded lower against major rivals on Monday, although the greenback held ground against the pound.
GBP/USD touched lows of 1.2125, the lowest level since October 28, before pulling back to 1.2144.
Sterling was under pressure after comments by British Prime Minister Theresa May on Sunday in her first interview of 2017 were seen as an indication that the U.K. won’t try to negotiate continued full access to the European single market when it leaves the European Union, known as Brexit, as she focuses on securing the Britain’s right to decide its own immigration policies and laws.
The British currency failed to find support after May attempted to come to the rescue on Monday, saying it was wrong to say a "hard Brexit" was inevitable.
In M&A news, shares in Surgcal Care Aff (NASDAQ:SCAI) surged nearly 16% on Monday after Dow component UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) offered to acquire the firm for $57 in cash and stock in a deal worth about $2.3 billion.
McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) also announced an agreement to sell 80% of its 2,200 stores in China and Hong Kong to a consortium including Citic Ltd (OTC:CTPCY) and Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG).
VCA Antech Inc (NASDAQ:WOOF) soared 28% after Mars Inc. said it would buy the pet food maker for $7.7 billion.
Shares in ARIAD Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ARIA) skyrocketed more than 70% as the Japanese pharmaceutical firm Takeda (T:4502) announced plans to purchase the U.S. company for $24 per share, or approximately $5.2 billion.
Meanwhile, oil prices tumbled nearly 3% on Monday, after Iran and Iraq both reported large export numbers. According to Reuters, Iran has sold over 13 million barrels of crude held at sea over the last three months, undermining attempts by OPEC members to curb supplies.
Additionally, exports from Iraq's Basra region have hit a record high, although the Iraqi oil ministry insisted that it will not affect its commitment to the OPEC production deal.
Furthermore, indications of increased drilling activity in the U.S. released late last Friday also put downward pressure on crude prices. According to oilfield services provider Baker Hughes, the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. last week increased by 4 to 529, the tenth straight weekly rise and a level not seen in more than a year.
U.S. crude futures sank 3.02% to $52.36 by 11:46AM ET (17:46GMT), while Brent oil tumbled 2.94% to $55.42.