Oil Surges Past $59 as Apple Drags on Tech Stocks: Markets Wrap

Oil surged to the highest price since mid-2015 after a pipeline blast in Libya, while U.S. technology shares slipped on speculation Apple Inc.’s phone sales will fall short of estimates. Trading volumes were thin on the day after Christmas.

The Nasdaq Composite Index fell the most in a week and the S&P 500 edged lower, with Apple and its suppliers among the worst performers. Energy shares rallied with crude, which rose past $59 a barrel. Emerging-market currencies strengthened as commodities posted the longest winning streak in more than a decade. The Treasury sold $45 billion of three-month bills with a measure of demand at the lowest since January 2009, a show of investor anxiety before the U.S. is expected to breach its debt ceiling in March.