US stocks drift lower after 2-day run; oil price jumps
By MATTHEW CRAFT, Associated Press
May 5, 2015 11:14 AM CDT
Trader William McInenery, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, May 5, 2015. Stocks are little changed in early trading following two days of gains that brought the market close to a record high. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)   (Associated Press)

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market sank Tuesday, taking a break after a two-day run. Chevron and other oil giants rose as crude oil climbed above $60 a barrel for the first time this year.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 14 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,100 as of 12:13 p.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average sank 75 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,995, while the Nasdaq composite fell 58 points, or 1.2 percent, to 4,959.

MICKEY'S MAGIC: Walt Disney's stock hit an all-time high after it delivered quarterly results that beat Wall Street's estimates, thanks, in part, to rising revenue from its Walt Disney World Resort and other theme parks. Last weekend, its "Avengers: Age of Ultron" had the second-biggest domestic opening behind the first "Avengers." Disney's stock climbed $1.04, or 1 percent, to $112.07.

DOLLAR: Kellogg, the maker of Frosted Flakes and Pop Tarts, reported that quarterly earnings slumped 44 percent as a rising U.S. dollar took a bite out of sales. The cereal company's stock fell $1.22, or 2 percent, to $62.91.

EARNINGS: The first-quarter earnings season has given investors little to celebrate, said Tim Dreiling, a senior portfolio manager at a division of U.S. Bank Wealth Management. More than seven out of every 10 companies in the S&P 500 have reported results that beat estimates. Yet more than half have fallen short of analysts' sales targets. "That's what is concerning," Dreiling said.

CRUDE: Oil and gas companies fared better than the rest of the stock market as the price of oil hit $60 a barrel, the first time it has traded that high since early December. Benchmark U.S. crude was up $1.77 to $60.70 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

EUROPE: Major markets in Europe traded lower. France's CAC-40 sank 1.8 percent, while Germany's DAX fell 2.1 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.5 percent. European government bond prices also fell, shooting government borrowing costs up.

BETTER: Investors reacted with caution to the news that the European Union had raised its growth forecast for the 19-country eurozone this year. The EU noted that it expects Greece's economy to take a dive this year. Greece is struggling to reach an agreement with creditors on a new plan to manage its bailout loans.

ASIA'S DAY: The Shanghai Composite Index in mainland China had its worst day in months, losing 4.1 percent, in turn dragging down Hong Kong's Hang Seng 1.3 percent. Markets in Japan, South Korea and Thailand were shut for holidays.

BONDS & CURRENCIES: U.S. government bond prices fell, sending the yield on the 10-year Treasury note up to 2.18 percent from 2.15 percent the day before. The dollar strengthened to 120.37 yen from 120.11 yen, though volumes were light with trading in Tokyo closed. The euro fell to $1.1124 from $1.1147.

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