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US stocks end higher; energy fall

| Updated: October 19, 2017 08:31:04


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The benchmark US S&P 500 stock index ended up slightly on Monday after two days of declines, though a drop in oil prices weighed on energy shares.

Market participants began to turn their focus to the Federal Reserve meeting at Jackson Hole, Wyoming later this week which will be attended by global central bankers.

Investors are looking for further direction on where monetary policy is headed given persistently low inflation in the US and Europe. 

Geopolitical concerns are still weighing on investor sentiment also. Tensions between the United States and North Korea kept investors on edge.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 29.24 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 21,703.75, the S&P 500 gained 2.82 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 2,428.37 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.40 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 6,213.13.

The S&P 500 energy index was down 0.6 per cent, leading sector declines in the S&P 500, with US crude oil prices settling down 2.4 per cent, giving back last week's gains.

While the benchmark S&P 500 index is still up 13.5 per cent since last year's US election, it had fallen 2.1 per cent in the last two weeks. That's the most since the two weeks before the election.

The Dow ended above its 50-day moving average after briefly falling below it during the session, while the S&P 500 remained below its 50-day technical level, reports Reuters.

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