Stocks fell and bond prices rose as investors turned cautious and shifted money into lower-risk holdings. The selling came as traders weighed the implications of the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump and a slowdown in U.S. economic growth. Facebook led communications stocks lower after Bloomberg reported that the Justice Department would launch its own antitrust investigation into the company. Health care and energy stocks also fell. Consumer products makers and real estate companies rose. Investors tend to favor lower-risk categories like those when they want to reduce risk.
Stocks spent most of the day in the red, finishing the session slightly lower.
The Dow Jones Industrials lost 79, the Nasdaq Composite fell 46, and the S&P 500 slipped 7.
Exxon Mobil says it is selling its upstream assets in Norway for $4.5 billion – part of its plan to divest some $15 billion of assets by 2021. This particular sale – to Vår Energi AS -- involves more than 20 producing fields operated mainly by Norwegian energy company Equinor. ExxonMobil expects the deal to close in the fourth quarter.
Norwegian Cruise Line is doing away with single-use plastic bottles on its ships. Norwegian is partnering with JUST Goods Inc., founded by rapper, actor and activist Jaden Smith and his family, to eliminate plastic bottles on its cruise ships by Jan. 1 … and replace them with JUST Good's paper cartons. The company estimates it will save more than six million single-use plastic bottles each year.
Oil futures fell slightly today. November crude slipped 8 cents, closing at $56.41 a barrel.