NEW YORK — The Osama bin Laden rally lasted all of three hours.
Stocks began climbing Monday morning after news of the death of the world’s most wanted terrorist overnight. Strong earnings from Humana and other companies also pushed them higher.
But by lunchtime, the gains were gone. Major indexes wavered throughout the remainder of the day and closed slightly lower.
“As great as the news is, it doesn’t have much to do with earnings or the economy,” said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 3.18 points to close at 12,807.36. The average of 30 stocks had been up as many as 65 points.
President Barack Obama said late Sunday that bin Laden, the al-Qaeda chief who masterminded the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, had been killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan. The news lifted investors’ mood when the market opened.
“It’s a feel-good item,” said Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at Standard & Poor’s. “It gives closure to a lot people.”
But Silverblatt expected the impact on markets to be temporary once traders shifted their focus to corporate profits and economic news.
Strong earnings over the past two weeks helped the Standard & Poor’s 500 index reach its highest level since the financial crisis Friday, when it closed at 1,363.61. The S&P fell 2.39 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,361.22. It had been up 7 points.
The Nasdaq composite fell 9.46 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,864.08.
The dollar dropped against a basket of six major currencies — the euro, Japanese yen, British pound, Canadian dollar, Swiss franc and Swedish krona — for the eighth straight day. The dollar index sank to 72.72, its lowest point since July 2008.
Whole Foods Market fell 5 percent, making it the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500. A Jefferies analyst downgraded the company and said sales could stagnate as shoppers feel the pinch of higher gas prices.
