U.S. stocks retreated on Wednesday after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose the most in a year as energy shares led losses amid a drop in oil prices.
Cimarex Energy Co. and Helmerich & Payne Inc. lost more than 4.6 percent to lead all 43 energy stocks in the S&P 500 lower. Biogen slid 5.4 percent as sales of its top drug missed analyst estimates. Yahoo! added 4.5 percent after sales topped estimates and Broadcom Corp. jumped 5.5 percent after reporting earnings that beat estimates and giving a forecast that eased concern chip orders might be drying up.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.7 percent to 1,927.11 at 4 p.m. in New York while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 153.49 points, or 0.9 percent, to 16,461.32. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.8 percent. Crude oil slid 2.4 percent to $80.52 a barrel, the lowest level on a closing basis in more than two years, after a U.S. report showed inventories increased by 7.11 million barrels last week.
Energy Stocks Slip
Eight of 10 main industries in the S&P 500 declined. Energy shares slipped 1.7 percent as a group for the biggest decline as crude oil slid. Utilities gained 0.6 percent for the biggest advance.
Meanwhile, Asian shares sagged and falling crude oil prices revived investor concerns over slowing global growth, as markets nervously waited for Chinese and European manufacturing reports later in the day.
Japan's Nikkei share average fell 0.8 percent while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.27 percent.