Daily Data Flow: Stocks Drop on Energy, Financials; Growth in Service Sector at Seven-Month Low; Oil, Dollar Fall

Stocks Drop on Energy, Financials (Bloomberg)
Falling financial and energy stocks today dragged down U.S. stocks, pulling the S&P 500 down from its recent record. “The two data points that came in below expectations have spooked the equity markets today,” Chad Morganlander, a Florham Park, New Jersey-based fund manager at Stifel Nicolaus & Co., said. “People are focused on Friday’s jobs report and the ADP number made investors more skittish.”

Growth in Service Sector at Seven-Month Low (CNBC)
According to an industry report, the U.S. service sector’s rate of growth in March was the slowest since August, seven months before. Reductions in new orders and employment measures are partially responsible for the slowdown, though growth is still occurring at this point.

Oil, Dollar Fall (Reuters)
With U.S. crude inventories at their highest point in over twenty years, oil prices dropped a bit today, while the aforementioned negative data brought the dollar down. “The softer-than-expected figure adds further support to our long-held view that the U.S. economy would slow towards mid-year, seeing sub-2 percent GDP growth in the second quarter,” said Andrew Grantham, economist at CIBC World Markets in Toronto. “This is a negative for stocks and the U.S. dollar, but a positive for fixed income.”