NEW YORK -- Wall Street ended lower Monday even though a sharp drop in oil prices overshadowed increasing inflation concerns.
The U.S. stocks initially sold off after the U.S. Commerce Department reported that U.S. consumer spending, after adjusting for inflation, fell in June by 0.2 percent in June, the poorest showing since a similar drop in February.
The higher prices reflected a big surge in gasoline costs and helped to drive an inflation gauge tied to consumer spending up by0.8 percent in June, the biggest increase since a 1 percent rise in February 1981.
Meanwhile, orders to U.S. factories shot up 1.7 percent in June, the fastest pace in six months, reflecting big increases in petroleum prices and heavy demand for military equipment.
But Wall Street pared some of the early losses after the crude oil tumbled on the reports that the Tropical Storm Edouard would not likely damage the oil operations in the Gulf of Mexico. Crude futures dropped briefly below 120 U.S. dollars a barrel before edging up and settling at 121.41 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices have lost nearly 20 percent from the all-time peak of 147.27 dollars a barrel reached on July 11.
The Dow Jones fell 42.17 to 11,284.15. Broader indexes also moved lower. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 11.30 to 1,249.01; and the Nasdaq declined 25.40 to 2,285.56.
The U.S. stocks initially sold off after the U.S. Commerce Department reported that U.S. consumer spending, after adjusting for inflation, fell in June by 0.2 percent in June, the poorest showing since a similar drop in February.
The higher prices reflected a big surge in gasoline costs and helped to drive an inflation gauge tied to consumer spending up by0.8 percent in June, the biggest increase since a 1 percent rise in February 1981.
Meanwhile, orders to U.S. factories shot up 1.7 percent in June, the fastest pace in six months, reflecting big increases in petroleum prices and heavy demand for military equipment.
But Wall Street pared some of the early losses after the crude oil tumbled on the reports that the Tropical Storm Edouard would not likely damage the oil operations in the Gulf of Mexico. Crude futures dropped briefly below 120 U.S. dollars a barrel before edging up and settling at 121.41 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices have lost nearly 20 percent from the all-time peak of 147.27 dollars a barrel reached on July 11.
The Dow Jones fell 42.17 to 11,284.15. Broader indexes also moved lower. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 11.30 to 1,249.01; and the Nasdaq declined 25.40 to 2,285.56.
