Wall Street opened lower on Tuesday after Pfizer’s tepid forecast and weak U.S. economic data disappointed investors.
Dow component Pfizer (PFE.N) reported revenue and profit above analysts’ estimates, but maintained its previous forecast for the year, sending its shares down 2 percent to $36.66.
The stock was the top percentage loser on the Dow and the biggest drag on the S&P 500.
Data showed U.S. consumer spending rose more than expected in June as households bought a range of goods and services.
However, core personal consumption expenditures (PCE), the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure, increased 1.6 percent in the 12 months through June, falling below the central bank’s 2 percent target.
Shares of automakers Ford (F.N) and General Motors (GM.N) fell nearly 3 percent after they reported a drop in deliveries to the U.S. market in July.
The stocks dragged the S&P’s consumer discretionary .SPLRCD down 0.66 percent, making it the biggest loser among the 10 major S&P indexes.
“I think they (U.S. markets) are just following the rest of the global markets, like Japan and Europe,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial in New York.
European stocks fell to two-week lows, dragged down by banks, while the yen rose against the dollar and government bonds sold off after Japan’s cabinet approved a fiscal stimulus package to revive the flagging economy.
Oil stocks were the top gainers among the 10 major S&P sectors after prices rose 2 percent. [O/R]
At 9:40 a.m. ET (1340 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was down 37.46 points, or 0.2 percent, at 18,367.05.
The S&P 500 .SPX was down 5.08 points, or 0.23 percent, at 2,165.76, while the Nasdaq Composite index .IXIC was down 17.31 points, or 0.33 percent, at 5,166.88.
Procter & Gamble’s (PG.N) shares rose 0.6 percent after the company forecast a growth in full-year net sales after two years of decline.
CVS (CVS.N) jumped 4.9 percent after the drugstore chain operator’s profit beat estimates.
AIG (AIG.N) and Electronic Arts (EA.O) are expected to report results after the bell.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 1,580 to 1,058. On the Nasdaq, 1,304 issues fell and 992 advanced.
The S&P 500 index showed 12 new 52-week highs and no new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 29 new highs and nine new lows.
REUTERS
