Investing.com -- U.S. stocks were mixed on Monday amid a last-minute rally by the Dow Jones Industrial Average, even as crude futures plunged to fresh 12-year lows pulling down energy stocks on the major indices.
U.S. crude futures tumbled more than 5% in Monday's session, at one point dipping below $31 a barrel, as longstanding concerns related to slowing economic growth in China continued to fester. With the dramatic one-day fall, crude futures extended a seven-day losing streak dating back to the start of the year. It coincided with an investor note by Morgan Stanley (N:MS), which warned that crude prices could stumble even further if the yuan continues to be devalued.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 52.12 or 0.32% to 16,398.57, while the NASDAQ Composite index fell 5.64 or 0.12% to 4,637.99, due in part to severe losses among biotech stocks. The NASDAQ closed lower for the eighth consecutive session. The S&P 500 Composite index, meanwhile, added 1.64 or 0.09% to 1,923.67, as six of 10 sectors closed in the green. Stocks in the Consumer Goods, Telecommunications and Utilities sectors led, each gaining more than 0.50% on the session.
The major indices are coming off their worst annual start in 25 years, as a slowdown in China and a continual downturn in energy prices has weighed on equity markets worldwide.
The top performer on the Dow was Cisco Systems Inc (O:CSCO), which added 0.53 or 2.14% to 25.31. Cisco Systems finished just ahead of Apple Inc (O:AAPL), which gained 1.74 or 1.79% to 98.70 after reports surfaced that its popular music streaming service hit the 10-million subscriber mark in a period of six months. The worst performer was EI du Pont de Nemours and Company (N:DD), which fell 1.89 or 3.09% to 59.28. Last week, DuPont (N:DD) launched the first of a series of layoffs, which will result in the loss of 1,700 positions.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Netflix Inc (O:NFLX), which rose by 3.88 or 3.48% to 116.78 after CEO Reed Hastings indicated that he wasn't opposed with users engaging in account sharing by using their HBO GO accounts to access Netflix (O:NFLX). The worst performer was Liberty Global PLC (O:LBTYA), which fell 2.65 or 6.94% to 35.55, after the television and telecommunication company received a downgrade from analysts at Morgan Stanley.
The top performer on the S&P 500 was Macy`s Inc (N:M), which surged 2.93 or 8.16% to 38.82. Earlier on Monday, after Starboard Value, an activist investor, prodded the company to enter into a joint venture for its brick-and-mortar stores. The worst performer was Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc (N:FCX), which plunged 1.11 or 20.43% to 4.31, amid the Chinese-fueled commodity rout. On Monday, copper fell to its lowest level since 2009 at the height of the Financial Crisis. China, the world's largest consumer of copper, accounts for more than 35% of the world's total copper consumption.
On Monday afternoon after the close of trading, Alcoa Inc (N:AA) kicks off the fourth quarter earnings period with the release of its results for the final period of 2015.
On the New York Stock Exchange, declining issues outnumbered advancing ones by a 2,003 to 1,071 margin.