There will likely be some relief on Wall Street after it appeared that Hurricane Gustav hadn’t damaged the Gulf Coast as badly as many feared – and in turn sent oil prices falling sharply. But trading may nonetheless be uneven when the market reopens today after the long holiday weekend, as it may take some time until all the damage reports are in.

While lower oil prices help consumers and most businesses, they weaken the stocks of energy and other commodities-related companies. Those stocks fell in overseas trading Monday after crude fell below $111 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and their declines will weigh on the Dow Jones industrials and other indexes.