By Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday with the
financials leading the losses on the S&P 500. Investors were
cautious as the crisis in Ukraine continued to flare up.
Premarket optimism stemming from deal news in the pharmaceutical
industry was short-lived.
The S&P 500 (SPX) was 6 points, or 0.3%, lower at 1,878.60.
Financials and consumer discretionary sector stocks led the losses.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 62 points, or 0.4%, to
16,468.91. The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) dropped 14 points, or 0.3%,
to 4,125.33.
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action.
The sole economic report on Tuesday was data on the U.S. trade
deficit, which narrowed in March, as the nation boosted exports of
gas, oil and commercial aircraft, the Commerce Department said. The
deficit fell 3.6% to $40.4 billion, slightly above the consensus of
$40 billion.
Merck falls, Office Depot surges on earnings
In deal news, Merck (MRK) agreed to sell its consumer-products
business, including the allergy-treatment Claritin and nasal
decongestant Afrin, to German drug maker Bayer AG (MRK) for $14.2
billion. Shares were 0.9% lower.
Office Depot Inc. shares (ODP) surged 16% after the electronics
retailer raised its outlook for 2014 operating profit and said it
plans to close at least 400 U.S. stores by the end of 2016.
Shares of Athenahealth (ATHN) fell 12%, after David Einhorn of
Greenlight Capital said at a conference Monday that the
health-information technology firm is "overpriced" and "caught up
in a bubble."
Among the sectors worst hit on Tuesday were financials, which
continued their slide from the previous session. Morgan Stanley
(MS) fell 1.5% while Goldman Sachs (GS) traded 0.9% lower.
DirecTV (DTV) shares rose 2.1% even as the company said
first-quarter earnings fell 19%. The company, however, continued to
boost its subscriber numbers, surpassing 38 million customers.
Quarterly results from media and entertainment conglomerate
Disney (DIS), upscale grocer Whole Foods (WFM) as well as
e-commerce and daily-deals company Groupon Inc. (GRPN) are due
after Wall Street's regular close.
Disney (DIS) is projected to report second-quarter earnings of
96 cents a share, according to a consensus survey by FactSet, while
Whole Foods is projected to report earnings of 41 cents a share in
the second quarter. Groupon Inc. is forecast to post a loss of 3
cents a share in the first quarter.
European stocks lower, Asian market closed
Ahead of Wall Street's open, European stocks reversed earlier
gains and moved lower.
On Tuesday, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development said the European Central Bank should immediately cut
its benchmark interest rate, to end a period of too-low inflation
in the euro zone.
Asian stocks were slightly higher, with Australia up after the
country's central bank held interest rates steady. Markets in
Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong were closed.
In the commodities markets Tuesday, gold (GCM4) futures fell
slightly. Crude for June delivery (CLM4) gained slightly but still
remained below the $100 a barrel level. Meanwhile, the pound
(GBPUSD) bought $1.6980 and traded at levels not seen since at
least 2009 after strong U.K. services data.
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