(Reuters) – Wall Street ended flat after a choppy session yesterday as falling oil prices led to more carnage in energy stocks and an “in line” economic report showed slower growth in China.
Declining U.S. crude pulled down materials stocks as well as the S&P energy sector, which slumped 2.17 percent.
Oil at 12-year lows is stoking fears on Wall Street of deeper losses for energy companies and the potential that some may fail to pay their debts. That has decimated oil stocks, helping push the S&P 500 down 8 percent since the start of the year.
China’s growth in 2015 was the slowest in 25 years but in line with expectations, a report showed. That raised hopes that Beijing would cushion the slowdown with more stimulus policies, but was not enough to satisfy U.S. investors.
“You have a tremendous amount of fear and uncertainty in the markets and we’ll need to see more than one good economic data point to overcome that,” said David Carter, chief investment officer at Lenox Wealth Advisors in New York.
At the end of a volatile session, a last-minute rally left the S&P 500 up 0.05 percent, barely above a 52-week low hit on Friday.
