US stocks close lower
US crude under $50 a barrel
Columbus Day in US
US benchmarks closed in the red after a quiet day's trading marked by Columbus Day.
In Toronto, markets are closed. On Wall Street, the Dow closed 12.60 down at 22,761.
The S&P 500 lost 4.60 at 2,544 and the Nasdaq shed 10.45 at 6,579.
In the oil markets, US crude added 0.49% to stand at US$ 49.53 a barrel.
General Electric (LON:GE.) was the biggest loser on the NYSE, sinking to a new two year low.
Shares tanked 4.39% to US$23.32 after there were and have been a series of changes at the top.
The conglomerate continues to make changes to its board, including the election of an activist investor.
It was announced after the close of trading on Friday that chief financial officer Jeff Bornstein would leave the company at the end of the year, along with Beth Comstock, the head of marketing efforts, and John Rice, vice-chairman.
On Monday, GE said Ed Garden, a founding partner and chief investment officer of activist investment firm Trian Fund Management, would join the board of directors, replacing Robert Lane, who is retiring because of health reasons.
Trian has a stake of around 1% in GE and has been badgering the company to pep-up the bottom line.
MID-SESSION
It was topsy turvey trading as the Dow swung between positive and negative territory at mid-session.
It is up 0.32 at the time of writing at 22,773, while the Nasdaq is down 0.53 at 6,589.
The broader based S&P 500 is down 1.48 at 2,547.
In the oil markets, US crude (West Texas Intermediate) is up 0.71% to US$49.64 a barrel.
David Madden, at CMC Markets in London, said: "US stocks have been racking up new all-time highs lately, but the moves haven’t been massive. A slow crawl higher has been the method. The US celebrates Columbus Day today so trading volumes are tipped to be low, and it is likely we won’t get into full swing until tomorrow.
"Due to the nation holiday, we don’t have any economic announcements from the US today but investors are still thinking about the non-farm payrolls announcement on Friday. Now that US earnings are finally picking up, traders will want to see inflation edge up also. The wages figures have been lagging the unemployment rate, and when both are healthy, the US economy will be able to withstand a few rate hikes per year."
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OPEN
US stocks started mixed, with the Dow Jones up 0.97 at 22,747.
The broader based S&P 500 shed 1.68 at 2,547, while the Nasdaq added 6.15 at 6,596.
US crude added 0.53% to stand at US$ 49.54 a barrel.
Canadian markets are closed for Thanksgiving.
It comes as the FTSE 100 in London is down almost 23 points as traders fret over the political uncertainties of Brexit and trade.
General Electric Co (NYSE:GE.) shares lost 2.83% to US$ 23.70, weighing today after several high-profile departures under new chief executive John Flannery.
Tesla is struggling to build the Model 3 — here's why https://t.co/Tn4fBAKw0Q pic.twitter.com/9DjitwD5KS
— Business Insider (@businessinsider) 9 October 2017
In US stocks, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares shed 2.77% to US$347 after the company announced late last week that the launch of its electric semi truck has been delayed.
Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Friday afternoon on Twitter that the launch date, initially scheduled for Octoner 26, has been pushed back to November 16.