Rising Oil Prices Squeeze US Stock Indexes
US stock indexes experienced a slight decline on Monday, August 17, due to rising oil prices and increasing inflation pressure. The S&P 500 fell 0.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.5% as well. The Nasdaq composite dropped 0.3%. Despite these losses, major US companies' profits are booming, which has contributed to Wall Street's near-record highs.
The decline was led by L3Harris Technologies, which fell 4.6% after its CEO and chairman, Christopher Kubasik, stepped down. Alphabet, Google's parent company, dipped 0.5%, despite Berkshire Hathaway increasing its investment in the company.
The S&P 500 fell 40.70 points to 7,745.06, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 272.63 points to 53,459.78. The Nasdaq composite fell 84.25 points to 26,644.91. For the year, all indexes are still up significantly: the S&P 500 is up 13.1%, the Dow is up 11.2%, and the Nasdaq is up 14.6%.