US Stocks Retreat On Oil Price Jump, Hawkish Fed

Wall Street stocks retreated on Monday, ending last week's rally as oil prices pushed higher and the Federal Reserve's top official delivered hawkish comments on inflation.

Remarks from Baltic states favouring an embargo on Russian oil and gas helped push crude prices further above US$100 a barrel as analysts see evidence that some petroleum buyers are already "self-sanctioning" and avoiding Russian oil.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the US central bank is prepared to raise interest rates by bigger steps than the quarter-point hike announced last week if that is what's needed to contain "much too high" inflation.

Stocks weakened after Powell's remarks, with some observers viewing them as more hawkish than his statements at last week's news conference.

The Dow Jones finished down 0.6 percent at 34,552.

The S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1 percent to 4,461, while the Nasdaq dropped 0.4 percent to 13,838.

Stocks are coming off a strong week, with the S&P 500 piling on more than six percent amid bargain hunting and positive trading momentum.

Among individual companies, Boeing fell 3.6 percent after a Boeing 737-800 operated by China Eastern crashed in China, possibly killing all 132 people on board.

The catastrophe comes as the American plane maker was poised to resume deliveries of the 737 MAX, a different plane, following a lengthy grounding.

Insurance firm Alleghany Corporation jumped nearly 25 percent after agreeing to be acquired by Warren Buffett's company Berkshire Hathaway for US$11.6 billion.

This week's calendar includes reports on new home sales and durable goods. (AFP)