U.S. Markets Fail To Rally As Oil Slides

New York, NY (AHN) - A 3 percent sell-off in crude oil failed to spark any kind of sustained rally in the markets as all three major indices finished modestly lower on Monday.

The commodity finished the session down $3.69 a barrel, settling at $121.41 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The energy sector followed suit, falling 4.9 percent. The materials sector was also weak, losing 4.2 percent; Freeport-McMoran was the largest laggard, down 12 percent to $80.35.

The Dow Jones Industrial average fell 42 points or 0.37 percent as Exxon Mobil and Alcoa weighed on the index, both down more than 3 percent.

The S&P 500 shed 11 points or 0.9 percent as only three of 10 major economic sectors posted a gain. Healthcare and consumer staples led the way, up 1.3 percent and 1.2 percent respectively. The healthcare stocks were sparked by a positive quarterly earnings report from Humana Inc.

Tech was the largest percentage decliner with the Nasdaq Composite down 25 points or 1.1 percent.

On the economic front, personal income for June rose 0.1 percent, better than the 0.2 percent decline economists had expected. Personal spending for June was also better than expected, rising 0.6 percent compared to the 0.4 percent expected.

The biggest upside surprise came from factory orders data. June orders rose 1.7 percent, a full percent better than the 0.7 percent economists expected.

The markets will be waiting in anticipation Tuesday as the Federal Open Market Committee releases its policy statement at 2:15 p.m. ET. The Fed is expected to leave rates unchanged at 2 percent.