03.09.201400:51:16UTC+00US stocks fluctuate as energy lags, S&P 500 stay above 2000

US stocks inched down in the trading session with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index still basking in its best month yet since February, clinging to 2000 as energy shares dropped and crude prices decreased to drag down advances the US manufacturing data that signaled the fastest expansion in three years showed.

The S&P 500 reached an intraday high of 2,006.12 and closed still above the 2000 mark line at a 0.1% increase or 1.09 points to 2,002.28. The gauge was lifted by financials and dragged by energy shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index added as much as 15 points in its intraday high while it lost as much as 89% for a close that is 0.2% lower or 30.89 points to 17,067.56. 21 out of the index’s 30 components declined led by losses from Chevron and Exxon Mobil. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.4% or 17.92 points to 4,598.19. The fear gauge of investors or the CBOE Volatility Index added 2.25% to 12.25. The trend showed that roughly two trends declined for each that climbed. The New York Stock Exchange witnessed 593 million shares exchange hands while composite volumes approached 2.8 billion. The manufacturing index climbed to 59, a high last seen on March of 2011.

Newfield Exploration Co. and Home Depot Inc. shed 2.1% and 2% respectively. Delta Air Lines Inc., Southwest Airlines Co., and Staples Inc. are winners in the trade gaining at least 2.8 for the air lines while Staples surged by 8.1%.

Senior equity analyst at Schaeffer’s Investment Research Inc., Joe Bell, commented to Bloomberg that the 2000 territory is still within the range of the S&P 500 and the market is yet to surpass the mark convincingly as it “remains as a speed bump in the short-term.” Bell adds that the better-than-expected manufacturing index was a positive stimulus however, the bolster experienced in August warranted that the market take a breather.