Commodities Resume Selloff on Chinese GDP; Stocks Little Changed
- Consumer stocks drive S&P 500 Index up by less than 0.1%
- T-Bill rate hits 7-month high amid U.S. debt-ceiling concerns
Markets, Companies, and a Changing Rate Environment
While signs of weakness in the Chinese economy rekindled declines in commodities, U.S. stocks ended Monday little changed at an eight-week high as consumer companies advanced before a barrage of earnings reports.
Crude oil extended last week’s drop on concern over the global glut, while copper slipped the most in three weeks as data showed China’s economy grew at the slowest pace since 2009 last quarter. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index eked out a third day of gains, with advances in Netflix Inc. to Tyson Foods Inc. offsetting a slump in raw material producers. The dollar strengthened versus the euro, while rates on short-term Treasury bills surged amid concern the U.S. Congress won’t reach a deal to raise or suspend the debt-ceiling.