NEW YORK, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Wall Street pared early gains and ended lower on Monday as the oil prices rebounded and major drug makers Merck and Schering-Plough missed earning targets.
Crude futures rose 2.16 dollars to settle at 131.04 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as the supply concerns brought by the tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico and the breakdown of the latest Iranian nuclear talks weighed on the market.
The investors were also concerned about the earnings of drug makers Merck & Co. and Schering-Plough Corp. Both companies' shares fell after a new study linked their cholesterol drug to cancer. The second-quarter results of the two companies were delayed until after the closing bell.
Earlier the stocks was lifted by the better-than-expected results of the Bank of America. The biggest U.S. consumer bank and home lender said its second-quarter profit fell less than analysts had estimated and the purchase of Countrywide Financial Corp. will add to earnings this year.
Four of five U.S. biggest banks have now reported better-than-expected results, raising hope the credit crisis might be easing and sparking a rally in financial shares.
Yahoo Inc. said Monday it reached a settlement with activist investor Carl Icahn that will put him and two of his nominees on an expanded board of directors. The agreement will avert a battle over control of the company that was expected at an Aug. 1 shareholders vote.
In economic news, the U.S. Conference Board reported Monday that the Leading Economic Index dipped 0.1 percent in June, suggesting the weak economic conditions may persist through the end of this year.
The Dow Jones fell 29.23 to 11,467.34. Broader indexes also moved lower. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dipped 0.68 to 1,260.00; and the Nasdaq fell 3.25 to 2,279.53.
