Wall Street Flat as Tropical Storm Crippled Texas

Shares of oil refinery firms climbed on Monday after Tropical Storm Harvey forced refineries in Houston to shut down.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 0.02 percent to 21,808.40, as insurance giant Travelers contributed the most to the losses. The S&P 500 fluctuated between gains and losses before ending 0.05 percent higher at 2,444.24, as health care led six sectors up. The Nasdaq composite jumped 0.28 percent to 6,283.02.

Harvey, a hurricane that was downgraded to a tropical storm, ravaged Houston and other parts of Texas over the weekend, with over 30 inches of rain falling in some parts in just 48 hours. Houston is home to several major refineries in the U.S.

Oil majors Exxon and Chevron fell 0.3 percent and 0.4 percent respectively. Valero Energy, Phillips 66 and Marathon Petroleum all finished higher.

The S&P 500 financial sector was the biggest weight on the index, with a 0.5 percent decline.

Home Depot, which climbed 1.2 percent, and other companies likely to benefit from rebuilding efforts in the region.

Insurer Travelers weighed the most on the Dow with a 2.6 percent decline to $123.23, as Allstate dropped 1.5 percent to $90.6 while investors priced in the likely impact of Harvey on the sector.

Prime News are provided by InstaForex