Wall Street was down on Monday as crude oil prices were once again on the rise as worries grew once again over Iran’s insistence on continuing its nuclear development program. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session 0.3 percent lower to 11,345.05, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.8 percent to 2,147.75 and the S&P 500 declined by 0.4 percent to 1,297.52.
Nearly the only sector that the higher oil prices helped was the oil sector itself. ExxonMobil was 1.1 percent higher to $69.83, while Marathon Oil added 3.1 percent to $89.94.
Also higher on the day, as investors sought a safe place to put their money, was the gold segment of the mining sector. Newmont Mining was up 3.6 percent to $52.55. Barrick Gold added 4.2 percent to $33.00. Copper miners also saw gains as a South American strike continued with not immediate hope of a solution. Freeport McMoran advanced by 4.7 percent to $57.15 and Coeur d’Alene was 4.9 percent higher to $5.37.
Home improvement retailers were lower. Lowe’s dropped 4 percent to $28.35 on a disappointing second-quarter report, and has lost 15 percent since January. Home Depot followed Lowe’s lower, falling 1.4 percent to $34.30. Elsewhere in the retail sector, Dollar General was down 9.6 percent to $12.74.
Transport was hit by higher oil prices, with Burlington Northern Santa Fe dropping 3.5 percent to $66.07 and Norfolk Southern declining by 4.1 percent to $42.46.
Internet stocks were lower as well, as Google fell 1.6 percent to $377.30, Yahoo was 3 percent lower to $28.90, and Amazon declined 3.4 percent to $28.13.