US stocks fell on Tuesday for the fifth straight session as investors worried over a dip in consumer confidence and fretted that markets are overpriced after scaling higher for nearly a year.
The Nasdaq closed at its lowest point this calendar year and blue chip stocks closed at three-week lows.
United Technologies Corp weighed on the Dow Jones industrials for a second consecutive day after it said there would be "negative impacts" from the Pentagon's cancellation of the Comanche helicopter program.
A report shortly after the open set the tone for the day's trading. Economic data showed US consumer confidence fell unexpectedly hard in February as Americans grew disenchanted with the economy, mainly because of the lack of new jobs.
"This confidence number is a little dose of reality for the market," said Milton Ezrati, senior economic strategist at fund firm Lord Abbett. "But we think the fundamentals remain good, and we see this as a correction in a cyclical bull market."
US stocks powered upward steadily from last March, but have drifted downward since hitting long-time highs over the past few weeks. Markets had been on an 11-month climb.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 43.25 points, or 0.41 percent, at 10,566.37. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index closed down 1.90 points, or 0.17 percent, at 1,139.09. The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite Index fell 2.08 points, or 0.10 percent, at 2,005.44.
Trading was slightly above average, with 1.5 billion shares changing hands on the New York Stock Exchange, just above the 1.4 billion daily average for last year.
About 2 billion shares were traded on Nasdaq, above the 1.8 billion daily average last year.
The number of declining and advancing issues were evenly matched on the NYSE. Decliners outnumbered advancers by five to four on Nasdaq.
United Technologies fell $1.97, or 2.1 percent, to $91.83 after the US Army's announcement on Monday that it was moving to cancel the $39 billion Comanche program to reallocate funds for other aviation programs.
Walt Disney Co shares were the Dow's biggest losers, falling 79 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $25.96.
Home Depot Inc, the world's largest home improvement retailer, rose 61 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $35.99. The company's quarterly earnings rose strongly, topping estimates, as merchandise and technology upgrades helped reverse year-earlier declines in earnings and sales.
Technology shares were dragged down by semiconductor design software maker Synopsys Inc, which late on Monday said it would buy Monolithic System Technology Inc, which licenses memory technology, and posted lower first-quarter financial results.
Synopsys shares fell $4.55, or 13.2 percent, to $29.88. Monolithic sky-rocketed about 85 percent to $12.97.
Calpine Corp was the largest loser in the S&P 500 after the power producer cancelled a $2.3 billion term loan and junk bond sale crucial to a refinancing plan as it met heavy resistance from investors overloaded with the debt.
Calpine shares fell 42 cents, or 7.3 percent, to $5.31.
Guidant Corp jumped $4.50, or 7 percent, to $67.95 after striking a deal with Johnson & Johnson to co-market J&J's drug-coated stent, a new device used to keep arteries clear after surgery. J&J climbed $1.13, or 2.1 percent, to $54.18.
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