Stocks ended little changed in heavy trading Monday, as Wall Street remained in a new-year funk.
Gains by so-called defensive stocks, including utilities, drugs, tobacco and beverages, which tend to do better during periods of economic stress, helped lift the Dow Jones industrial average and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index.
But economically sensitive stocks, such as information technology, basic materials and energy, lost ground.
The Dow added 27.31 points, to 12,827.49, thanks to gains by tobacco purveyor Altria Group, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s. Among the losers were Boeing, Alcoa and International Business Machines.
Aluminum producer Alcoa is expected on Wednesday to launch the reporting period for fourth-quarter financial results by major companies. Shares of the Dow component dropped $1.76, to $33.11.
Technology stocks continued to suffer. The Nasdaq composite index closed down 5.19, at 2499.46. The Standard & Poor’s 500 added 4.55, to 1416.18. The Russell 2000 index of small-company stocks gained 2.35, to 723.95.
New York Stock Exchange trading volume reached 1.71 billion shares, up from 1.64 billion shares Friday. Winning stocks outnumbered losers by a 9-7 ratio among NYSE-listed stocks. Nasdaq trading volume totaled 2.55 billion shares, up from 2.47 billion shares Friday, as losers topped winners by a narrow margin.
Treasury securities continued their recent rally. No major economic reports are scheduled for release this week, but more economists are predicting that the U.S. economy has entered a recession.
Crude oil for February delivery fell $2.82 a barrel, to $95.09, in New York futures trading, reflecting concern about slower economic growth. Last Thursday, oil traded at more than $100 a barrel.
TREASURY AUCTIONS: Interest rates declined at Monday’s weekly auction of 3- and 6-month Treasury bills. The discount rate for 3-month bills was 3.18 percent, down from 3.31 percent at last week’s auction. The rate on 6-month bills was 3.17 percent, down from 3.39 percent last week.
The coupon-equivalent investment rates at Monday’s auction were 3.27 percent for 3-month bills and 3.28 percent for 6-month bills.