(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks tumbled Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average poised for its worst day since October, as a drop in durable-goods orders and disappointing results from Caterpillar Inc. to Microsoft Corp. heightened concern about the economy's strength.
Technology shares in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index had the biggest drop in more than three year. Microsoft lost 9 percent as software-license sales to businesses were below forecasts. Caterpillar plunged 7.5 percent after forecasting 2015 results that trailed estimates as plunging oil prices signal lower demand from energy companies. DuPont Co. dropped 2.8 percent as a stronger dollar cuts into the chemical maker's profit. Procter & Gamble Co. and United Technologies Corp. declined at least 1.3 percent after saying the surging greenback will lower full-year earnings.
"Currency headwinds, as well as evidence of a continual deceleration of global growth, is having a major impacts on quarterly results," Chad Morganlander, a money manager at St. Louis-based Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., which oversees about $160 billion, said in a phone interview. "Coupled with that, durable goods orders were somewhat disappointing, which scotches any optimism for today's trading session."
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index slipped 1.4 percent to 2,027.78 at 12:15 p.m. in New York, below its average price for the past 50 days. The Dow declined 347.17 points, or 2 percent, to 17,331.53, poised for the biggest drop on a closing basis since October.
Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to BenefitsPRO, part of your ALM digital membership.
Your access to unlimited BenefitsPRO content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Critical BenefitsPRO information including cutting edge post-reform success strategies, access to educational webcasts and videos, resources from industry leaders, and informative Newsletters.
- Exclusive discounts on ALM, BenefitsPRO magazine and BenefitsPRO.com events
- Access to other award-winning ALM websites including ThinkAdvisor.com and Law.com
Already have an account? Sign In
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
