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New York - Weakness in petroleum-linked shares and pharmaceuticals pushed US stocks lower on Wednesday as global markets awaited a speech this week by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.
The declines by US pharma companies came as mounting criticism of drug maker Mylan hit the sector broadly. The fall in oil-linked stocks followed a bearish US inventory report sent oil prices lower.
Stocks elsewhere were mixed, with Germany pushing modestly higher after second-quarter economic growth was reported at a better-than-expected 0.4%.
Paris also gained, while London retreated somewhat due in part to weakness in mining stocks after Glencore posted a loss of $369m for the first half amid collapsing commodity prices.
Japanese stocks climbed 0.6% thanks to strong gains among automakers including Toyota and rival Nissan.
With the economic calendar relatively light this week, attention has focused on Yellen's Friday address at the annual meeting of central bankers at Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
The speech could shed light on whether better US economic data boosts the odds for an interest rate hike this year.
"Everybody has been waiting for Friday," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank.
"Historically Jackson Hole speeches have been a big surprise to investors and so I think investors are bracing for something new."
Foreign exchange markets also avoided big swings, with the dollar rising against the euro and the yen, but falling against the pound.
"It's kind of a waiting game for Yellen," said Vassili Serebriakov, foreign exchange analyst at Credit Agricole. "Markets are pretty cautious here."
Oil prices fell as the US Department of Energy said commercial inventories of crude grew by a greater-than-expected 2.5 million barrels last week, adding to lingering concerns over a global supply glut.
Petroleum-linked shares mostly fell, with Anadarko Petroleum losing 3.4%, Halliburton 1.4% and driller Nabors Industries 3.3%.
Drug maker Mylan sank 5.5% after drawing criticsm from the White House and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton over the sky-high price of EpiPen, which is used to counter life-threatening allergic reactions.
That renewed scrutiny of US drug prices more generally. Fellow biotech and pharma companies Amgen, Biogen and Celgene all lost at least two percent, while the Dow members Pfizer and Merck also fell.
Read Fin24's top stories trending on Twitter: Fin24’s top stories
The declines by US pharma companies came as mounting criticism of drug maker Mylan hit the sector broadly. The fall in oil-linked stocks followed a bearish US inventory report sent oil prices lower.
Stocks elsewhere were mixed, with Germany pushing modestly higher after second-quarter economic growth was reported at a better-than-expected 0.4%.
Paris also gained, while London retreated somewhat due in part to weakness in mining stocks after Glencore posted a loss of $369m for the first half amid collapsing commodity prices.
Japanese stocks climbed 0.6% thanks to strong gains among automakers including Toyota and rival Nissan.
With the economic calendar relatively light this week, attention has focused on Yellen's Friday address at the annual meeting of central bankers at Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
The speech could shed light on whether better US economic data boosts the odds for an interest rate hike this year.
"Everybody has been waiting for Friday," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank.
"Historically Jackson Hole speeches have been a big surprise to investors and so I think investors are bracing for something new."
Foreign exchange markets also avoided big swings, with the dollar rising against the euro and the yen, but falling against the pound.
"It's kind of a waiting game for Yellen," said Vassili Serebriakov, foreign exchange analyst at Credit Agricole. "Markets are pretty cautious here."
Oil prices fell as the US Department of Energy said commercial inventories of crude grew by a greater-than-expected 2.5 million barrels last week, adding to lingering concerns over a global supply glut.
Petroleum-linked shares mostly fell, with Anadarko Petroleum losing 3.4%, Halliburton 1.4% and driller Nabors Industries 3.3%.
Drug maker Mylan sank 5.5% after drawing criticsm from the White House and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton over the sky-high price of EpiPen, which is used to counter life-threatening allergic reactions.
That renewed scrutiny of US drug prices more generally. Fellow biotech and pharma companies Amgen, Biogen and Celgene all lost at least two percent, while the Dow members Pfizer and Merck also fell.
Read Fin24's top stories trending on Twitter: Fin24’s top stories
