BarronsLost Direction. All three major stock indexes closed not far from even on Monday, after some early gains built on last week’s momentum. Oil and natural-gas prices rose, pushing energy stocks higher. AT&T stock (ticker: T) jumped after activist hedge fund Elliott Management disclosed a large stake in the company. The parent company of office-space startup WeWork is reportedly considering further slashing the valuation for its planned initial public offering. In today’s After the Bell, we…
- explain why oil prices rose today;
- check on China’s August trade data;
- and watch one major activist eyeing big gains from telecom and media giant AT&T.
Flat Again
Stocks closed flat on Monday due to a lack of market-moving headlines regarding trade war development and Federal Reserve updates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 38.05 points, or 0.14%, to end at 26,835.51. The S&P 500 slipped 0.28 points, or 0.01%, to close at 2978.43 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 15.64 points, or 0.19%, to end at 8087.44.