Opening the week, declines in Energy sector shares weighed heavily on the S&P 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average as oil prices experienced their biggest daily drop since November. On Tuesday, the NASDAQ composite closed at a record for the fourth session in a row. By mid-week, indices closed in the green zone despite volatile trading. Stocks rebounded from session low levels on Thursday to close slightly down for the day, with Financial sector stocks leading the decline. Indices closed out slightly mixed on Friday with the NASDAQ hitting yet another record high. Meanwhile, consumer confidence is down in January. In a preliminary measure, the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index registered a reading of 98.1 down from December’s final reading of 98.2. Looking elsewhere, Labor Department figures showed prices rose by 0.3% in December, as anticipated.
