S&P, Dow Lose Ground as Crude Plunge Punishes Energy Stocks

The Dow and S&P 500 ended slightly lower on Tuesday following losses in energy shares and Boeing, offsetting a small gain in technology stocks and renewed hopes for progress in trade talks.
The Nasdaq ended the session essentially flat as a rebound in tech kept the index out of negative territory. Energy stocks <.SPNY> weighed heaviest on the S&P 500, driven lower by a 7.1 percent plunge in crude prices, their biggest percentage drop in 2-1/2 years. The energy sector closed down 2.4 percent. Boeing Co reported a 37 percent increase in 737 deliveries in October, but shares fell on concerns related to last month's deadly crash of a 737 operated by Indonesia's Lion Air. The stock ended the session down 2.1 percent, providing the biggest drag on the Dow.U.S.-China trade tensions enjoyed a reprieve as negotiations between the world's two largest economies appeared to be making headway, with a U.S. adviser saying the countries' two leaders would meet at the G20 meeting later this month."If you look at investor sentiment...it's fairly clear even in the sharp rally days over the last few days there's not been significant conviction there," said Oliver Pursche, vice chairman and chief market strategist at Bruderman Asset Management in New York. “If you're looking at market action today, that reflects an unsuredness and lack of direction," Pursche added. "And you're probably not going to get a sense of direction until we get through the G20 meeting and that's assuming there's going to be some positive developments there."