US stocks edge lower on Fed rate news; energy shares reverse a slide

New York (AP) — Stocks remained mostly lower in midday trading Monday, but a spike in oil prices helped energy shares reverse an early decline. Investors continue to focus on the Federal Reserve, which appears to remain on track to raise interest rates as soon as September.

Keeping score: The Dow Jones industrial average was down 40 points, or 0.2 percent, to 16,603 as of 12:25 p.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost six points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,982 and the Nasdaq composite declined 11 points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,817.

Oil surge: Oil prices, which had been solidly lower earlier in the day, jumped in late-morning trading. U.S. crude surged $2.49, or 6 percent, to $47.80 a barrel after the U.S. Energy Department cut its estimate for the country's oil production, citing reduced production in Texas.

Energy stocks rose on the news. Newfield Exploration gained 3 percent, Valero Energy increased 2.5 percent. Oil giants Exxon and Chevron were flat after being down as much as 3 percent earlier.

Fed plans: Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said over the weekend that policymakers still had a "pretty strong case" for raising rates in September. That ran counter to recent market sentiment that China's economic slowdown and global market volatility might prompt the nation's central bank to wait. Speaking at the Fed's annual gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Fischer emphasized he was not saying what action the Fed might take at its September meeting, but analysts took his comments to mean he saw the economy moving close to satisfying the Fed's conditions for a hike. The Fed has kept rates ultra-low since the 2008 financial crisis.

Go away August: It's been a brutal month for investors. On the last the last trading day of August, the S&P 500 is down 5.8 percent for the month, its worst loss since May 2012. Last week the S&P 500 index briefly entered a "correction," defined as a drop of 10 percent or more from a recent peak.

Volatility has also risen sharply. The VIX, Wall Street's so-called fear gauge, soared 132 percent this month, the largest monthly jump the index has ever had.

Asia's day: Asian markets had another bumpy day. The Shanghai Composite Index fell as much as 2.6 percent, but recovered to close 0.8 percent lower. Hong Kong's Hang Seng also spent most of the day in the red before closing up 0.3 percent. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 lost 1.3 percent.

European stocks also fell. Germany's DAX lost 0.4 percent and France's CAC-40 lost 0.5 percent. U.K.'s markets were closed for a holiday.

Bonds, currencies: U.S. government bond prices were mostly unchanged. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.17 percent from 2.18 percent late Friday. The dollar declined to 121.25 yen from 121.38 yen on Friday. The euro rose to $1.120 from $1.1180.

By Ken Sweet, AP Business Writer. Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The Gayly – August 31, 2015 @ 11:40am.