Stocks closed Monday with mixed results on a slip in crude oil and anticipation of the Federal Reserve’s July meeting. Energy sector stocks led the way down. Tuesday, a handful of disappointing earnings brought the Dow Jones Industrial Average down. With nearly a third of the S&P 500 companies having reported quarterly results, earnings are on track to contract 4.5% in the second quarter from the prior year. Mixed moves continued mid-week with the Dow and S&P 500 shedding points while the NASDAQ landed in the green zone. U.S. stocks were little changed after the Federal Reserve held short-term interest rates steady. On Thursday, the Dow shed some points while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ closed with slight gains. Initial jobless claims ramped up last week as the Labor Department reported new claims increased by 14,000 to 266,000. Continuing claims climbed 7,000 to 2.139 million in the week ended July 16. In Friday’s mixed results, the Dow shed some points while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ added gains. West Texas Intermediate crude oil tacked on 1.1% to settle at $41.60 a barrel. Also on Friday, University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey declined for July, shedding 3.5 points for a reading of 90, marking a three-month low. Additionally, the advanced reading for second quarter GDP disappointed, rising just 1.2% compared to consensus estimates of 2.6%. Overall, the S&P closed the week down 0.05% while the Dow lost 0.75% and the NASDAQ gained 1.23% for the week.
