Investing.com – U.S. equities closed lower on Monday, as investors weighed the prospect of a March rate hike while snap sank 12% on its third day of trade.
U.S. equities traded in negative territory throughout the session, as the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at its meeting on March 14-15 hit its highest level on Monday while a fresh batch geopolitical concerns weighed on upside momentum.
According to Investing.com’s Fed rate monitor tool, nearly 90% of traders expect a rate hike in March, compared to just under 80% last Friday.
Over the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Barack Obama of wiretapping him during the 2016 election campaign while North Korea conducted missile tests early Monday, which reduced investors’ appetite for risk.
On the economic data front, better than expected U.S. factory orders data for January had little impact on markets.
The commerce Department said on Monday, factory goods orders rose 1.2% after an unrevised 1.3% jump in December. Economists had forecast factory orders advancing 1.0% in January.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.24% lower at 20,954. The S&P 500 shed 0.33% and the Nasdaq Composite closed 0.37% lower at 5,849.
Elsewhere in corporate news, Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP) shares closed 12% lower to $23.80, after a slew of analysts slapped a “sell” rating on the social media company’s stock while GoPro Inc (NASDAQ:GPRO) slumped nearly 8%, following a downgrade from Goldman Sachs.
The top S&P 500 gainers included Range Resources Corporation (NYSE:RRC) up 4.1%, and Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (NYSE:COG) up 3.5%, while Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN) added 3%.
Endo International PLC (NASDAQ:ENDP) down 6.9%, CSRA Inc (NYSE:CSRA) down 4.3% and Frontier Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:FTR) slumped 3.8%, were among the worst S&P 500 performers of the session.