Symbol	Name	Price		Change	%Change
DJIA	Dow Industrials	18086.40		-51.98	-0.29%
S& P 500	S& P 500 Index	2126.50		-6.48	-0.30%
NASDAQ	NASDAQ Composite	5199.82		-14.34	-0.28%

 

 

Stocks close lower as consumer discretionary lags Fed, earnings in focus

U.S. stocks closed lower on Monday, amid falling oil prices, as investors digested a number of corporate results, key economic data and remarks from a key Federal Reserve official.

Fed Vice Chair Stanley Fischer warned of the dangers of low interest rates, suggesting they could lead to longer and deeper recessions, making the economy more vulnerable.
" We are very close to our targets" of full employment and 2 percent inflation, he said. " So we' re not in deep trouble with monetary policy at the moment," he responded when asked about the concept of raising the Fed' s inflation target .

Last week, Fed Chair Janet Yellen delivered a speech in which she said it' s useful to consider the benefits of a " high-pressure economy," adding the post-financial crisis period has pushed policymakers into reconsidering the dynamics of inflation.

Investors have been heavily scrutinizing U.S. economic data, as well as remarks from key Fed officials, gauging the likelihood the central bank raises rates before year' s end.
" For [the market] to break to the upside, we' re going to need to see growth coming back the world," said Arian Vojdani, investment strategist at MV Financial. " For us to break to the downside, we' ll Need to start losing faith in central bank policy. "

Overseas, Chinese GDP, retail sales and industrial profits are all scheduled for release on Wednesday. Last week, U.S. stocks were weighed down by a surprise fall in Chinese exports.

" It' s pretty clear that China is bumping along the bottom. When we' ll see a turnaround, that' s unknown," said Maris Ogg, president at Tower Bridge Advisors. But " when you talk to companies that have boots on the ground. I think that' s giving better color on the data. " Ogg pointed specifically to Caterpillar, which is scheduled to report quarterly results next week.

Gold futures for December delivery rose $ 1.10 to settle at $ 1,256.60 per ounce.

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