The stock markets in the United States declined as oil prices plunged today due to the unexpected increase in the country’s crude supplies. The WTI crude fell 3.2% to $36.66 per barrel, and the Brent crude dropped 3.33% to $36.53 a barrel.
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The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that the country’s crude supply increased by 2.6 million barrels for the week ended December 25. The agency reported that the U.S. crude production rose 23,000 barrels per day to 9.2 million barrel per day last week.
Dominick Chirichella, an analyst at the Energy Management Institute, commented, “Production is up again, it’s defying all odds. We still just have a robust amount of supply. I just don’t see anything that excites me to want to buy the market.”
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy stated that the Kingdom’s policy of unrestrained output is “reliable” and they have no intention to change it.
[drizzle]“The increase in production depends on the demand of the customers. We meet our customers’ demand, there is no longer a limit to production, as long as there is demand, we have the ability to meet demand,” said Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Ali al-Naimi.
The energy sector in the S&P 500 was down 23% this year, the biggest decliner among the ten sectors in the index.
Separately, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that the index of pending home sales declined 0.9% in November—an indication the housing market seemed slightly decelerating.
NAR Chief Economisy Lawrence Yun said, “Home prices rising too sharply in several markets, mixed signs of an economy losing momentum and waning supply levels have acted as headwinds in recent months. Available listings that are move-in ready and in affordable price ranges remain hard to come by.”
U.S. Markets
- Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) – 17, 603.87 (-0.66%)
- S&P 500- 2,063.36 (-0.72%)
- NASDAQ- 5,065.85 (-0.82%)
- Russell 2000- 1,149.59 (-0.94%)
European Markets
- EURO STOXX 50 Price EUR- 3,287.98 (-0.79%)
- FTSE 100 Index- 6,274.05 (-0.64%)
- Deutsche Borse AG German Stock Index DAX- 10,743.01 (-1.08%)
Asia-Pacific Markets
- Nikkei 225- 10,033.71 (+0.27%)
- Hong Kong Hang Seng Index- 21,882.15 (-0.53%)
- Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 Index- 3,765.18 (+0.09%)
Stocks in Focus
Chimerix recovered more than 13% in stock value to $8.35 per share today. The biopharmaceutical company declined more than 81% yesterday after announcing the failed results of the Phase 3 trial for its key antiviral product candidate, brincidofovir.
The stock price of Southwestern Energy Company declined almost 7% to $6.29 per share due to the plummeting oil prices. TheStreet Ratings team issued a Sell recommendation on the stock based on several negative factors including its deteriorating net income, high debt management risk, disappointing return on equity, and weak operating cash.
The shares of Yahoo declined nearly 2% to $33.37 per share. The tech giant was reportedly selling its 48.6-acre development site in Santa Clara, California.
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