Stocks fall, snapping the Dow’s 10-day winning streak
Losses in healthcare and consumer-focused companies pulled U.S. stocks broadly lower Tuesday, snapping a 10-day winning streak for the Dow Jones industrial average.
Energy stocks fell along with the price of crude oil. Only the utilities sector eked out a gain on a day of mostly listless trading as investors kept an eye on company earnings and geopolitical news.
The market slide accelerated slightly in the last half-hour of trading as President Trump denounced North Korea’s nuclear program.
The remarks followed a new report asserting that U.S. intelligence has assessed that Pyongyang has produced a nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles.
“That may have weighed a little bit” on markets, said Phil Guarco, global investment specialist J.P. Morgan Private Bank.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 5.99 points, or 0.2%, to 2,474.92. The Dow fell 33.08 points, or 0.2%, to 22,085.34. The S&P 500 and Dow were both coming off record highs.
The Nasdaq composite went down 13.31 points, or 0.2%, to 6,370.46. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks declined 4.02 points, or 0.3%, to 1,410.15.
Bond prices were little changed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note held steady at 2.26%.
The market indexes wavered between small gains and losses for the first few hours of trading, then veered lower. The slide deepened after Trump’s remarks on North Korea aired.
At a briefing on opioid addiction at his golf course in Bedminster, N.J., Trump warned North Korea not to make any more threats against the United States, adding that North Korea would be “met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.”
The VIX, a measure of how much volatility investors expect in stocks, jumped 10.4%.
Beyond geopolitical concerns, investors continued to size up company earnings reports.
Avis Budget Group slumped 9.9% to $30.09 after the car rental company cut its guidance following a weak second quarter.
SeaWorld Entertainment slid 6.2% to $12.76 after the theme park operator reported second-quarter revenue that fell short of Wall Street’s expectations.
Michael Kors soared 21.5% to $45.25 after the luxury handbag and apparel firm’s sales improved and its latest quarterly results beat analysts’ forecasts.The stock was the biggest gainer in the S&P 500.
Ralph Lauren climbed 13.3% to $88.53 while peer-to-peer loan company LendingClub leaped 18.1% to $6.45 after reporting results that pleased investors. Construction giant Aecom climbed 8% to $33.85.
Healthcare equipment and services company Henry Schein declined 5.3% to $174.02 amid a broader slide by healthcare stocks.
Depomed plunged 33.4% to $6.15 after the drugmaker cut its revenue forecast for the year as scrutiny of opioid pain medications affects its sales.
Benchmark U.S. crude fell 22 cents to $49.17 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 23 cents to $52.14 a barrel in London.
In other energy futures trading, wholesale gasoline slipped 1 cent to $1.62 a gallon. Heating oil fell 1 cent to $1.63 a gallon. Natural gas rose 2 cents to $2.82 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Gold fell $2.10 to $1,262.60 an ounce. Silver rose 14 cents to $16.39 an ounce. Copper rose 4 cents to $2.94 a pound.
The dollar fell to 110.48 yen from 110.72 yen. The euro fell to $1.1752 from $1.1793.
Markets overseas were mixed. In Europe, Germany’s DAX rose 0.3% and France’s CAC 40 added 0.2%. Britain’s FTSE 100 ticked up 0.1%. In Asia, markets were mostly lower after disappointing Chinese trade data. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.3% and South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.2%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.6%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.5%.
UPDATES:
2:45 p.m.: This article was updated with closing prices, context and analyst comment.
11:20 a.m.: This article was updated with market prices and context.
This article was originally published at 7 a.m.
