Wall Street swung from gains to losses overnight as investors took positions as US Federal Reserve policy makers prepared to start a two-day meeting on Tuesday, and as oil prices continued their free-fall.
Oil tumbled further after United Arab Emirates said oil exporters would not cut output even if prices slide as low as US$40 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate for January delivery dropped 2.4 per cent to US$56.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent for January settlement slid 0.8 per cent to US$61.35 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.
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Equities followed suit. In afternoon trading in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2 per cent, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index declined 0.3 per cent, while the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.5 per cent. The S&P 500 fell as low as 1,982.26 after earlier rising as high as 2,018.69.
Slides in shares of General Electric and those of American Express, down 1.3 per cent and 1.1 per cent respectively, led the Dow lower.