US stocks closed Monday with modest gains as advances in technology and biotech stocks were pegged back by heavy declines in oil prices and subsequent declines in stocks in the energy sector.
With a slowdown in oil consumption predicted for China – the world’s second largest consumer of oil – and concerns growing over the influx of Iranian oil once the sanctions are lifted, investors traded cautiously, continuing to asses a flurry of quarterly earnings results due this week.
Biotech Stocks
Major biotech stocks including Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD), Celgene Corporation (CELG), ), Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (REGN),Amgen Inc. (AMGN), and Biogen Inc. (BIIB) increased 1.2%, 1.3%, 0.8%, 1.7% and 0.2%, respectively.
The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology posted a 0.5% increase, whilst the more general Health Care Select Sector SPDR rose 0.4%.
Technology Stocks
The Technology Select Sector SPDR also saw a gain of 0.4%. Key sector holdings including Microsoft Corporation (MSFT), Intel Corporation (INTC), Alphabet Inc (GOOGL), Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Facebook, Inc. (FB) rose 1.7%, 0.2%, 0.6%, 0.7% and 0.9%, respectively.
Energy Stocks
Despite the strong gains in the technology and biotech sectors, the decline of 2.9% in the price of crude oil and the fall of 3.8% in Brent Oil saw gains limited. Key energy companies found themselves in negative territory because of the crash in oil with Chevron Corp (CVX) down 1.4% and Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM) down 1.8%