Stocks Opened Slightly Lower

U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Monday as investors awaited quarterly results from many major corporations across sectors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 36.97 points, or 0.14%, to 26,522.57. The S&P 500 declined 1.73 points, or 0.06%, to 2,903.30. The Nasdaq Composite gave up 16.49 points, or 0.21%, to 7,981.57.

Oil prices surged on Monday amid reports the U.S. will announce the end of waivers for countries to import Iranian oil. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery surged $1.50, or 2.3%, to $65.50 a barrel. June Brent crude rallied $1.75, or 2.4%, to $73.72 a barrel.

Halliburton (HAL) reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the fiscal first quarter and anticipated an improvement in oilfield service pricing in the coming months. The company posted revenue of $5.73 billion, versus $5.53 billion expected, and adjusted EPS of 23 cents, or a penny ahead of expectations.

Kimberly-Clark (KMB) posted first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $1.66, versus $1.54 expected, on net sales of $4.6 billion, versus $4.53 expected. Kimberly-Clark reiterated its full-year earnings outlook for adjusted EPS of between $6.50 and $6.70 per share.

Grainger (GWW) beat consensus expectations on the bottom-line and reiterated its full-year 2019 guidance for sales growth of between 4% and 8.5%. First-quarter adjusted EPS of $4.51 was 6 cents ahead of estimates, while sales of $2.8 billion were in-line with consensus expectations.