US Stocks Close Slightly Lower

(AP) -- A mixed batch of corporate earnings helped drag the major U.S. stock indexes slightly lower Tuesday, pulling the market farther from its recent record highs for the second straight day.

Mixed or disappointing reports from Under Armour, Dish Network, Corning, HCA and Beyond Meat and others weighed on the market. Capital One Financial slumped after the credit card issuer and bank disclosed that roughly 100 million people had some personal information stolen by a hacker.

Apple climbed 3% in after-hours trading after its latest results handily beat analysts' estimates.

Homebuilders also bucked the broader decline after D.R. Horton reported strong quarterly results and positive gains in new home orders.

This week's modest market pullback came as investors looked cautiously ahead to a key policy update from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday. That's when the central bank is widely expected to cut its benchmark interest rate for the first time in a decade. The Fed has decided that a rate cut now --- and possibly one or more additional cuts to follow --- could help inoculate the economy against a potential downturn.

"There's just a lot of confusion on whether is there really going to be a rate cut, which the market seems to think there will be, and then if there's going to be any indication of further rate cuts," said Karyn Cavanaugh, senior markets strategist at Voya Investment Management.

The S&P 500 index fell 7.79 points, or 0.3%, to 3,013.18. Despite its two-day slide, the benchmark index remains within 0.4% of its all-time high set on Friday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 23.33 points, or 0.1%, to 27,198.02. The Nasdaq composite slid 19.71 points, or 0.2%, to 8,273.61.

Small-company stocks fared better than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 index rose 16.57 points, or 1.1%, to 1,585.60.

Major stock indexes in Europe finished lower.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.06% from 2.05% late Monday.

Even with the broader market pullback this week, indexes are still poised to close July with solid gains. The S&P 500 is up 2.4% for the month and the Nasdaq is up 3.3%. The Dow is up 2.3%.

Technology stocks accounted for the biggest share of the selling Tuesday. Communications services stocks, retailers and health care companies also weighed on the market. Energy stocks led the gainers, benefiting from a 2.1% pickup in U.S. crude oil prices.

Capital One Financial fell 5.9% after the bank said a hacker gained access to the personal information of more than 100 million people.

Companies are about midway through earnings reporting season, and results have generally been better than the dismal expectations that analysts had coming into it. Still, most of the companies that reported disappointing quarterly results Tuesday put investors in a selling mood.

Gartner led the technology sector decline, tumbling 19% after the research company cut its earnings and revenue guidance.

Under Armour plunged 12.2% after the sports apparel company's revenue fell short of Wall Street forecasts. The company also said it expects a slight sales decline in North America this year and its overall profit forecast for 2019 is weaker than analyst forecasts.

Dish Network slid 8.7% after the satellite television provider's second quarter profit fell short of analysts' forecasts.

Beyond Meat slumped 12.3% after the plant-based burger maker reported a bigger loss than Wall Street anticipated during the second quarter and announced a stock sale. The loss and secondary stock offering overshadowed solid sales results and an increased sales forecast.

Offshore drilling company McDermott International plunged 35.3% after it slashed its financial forecast and told investors it will register a loss in 2019.

Other companies got a boost after their latest results impressed investors.

Procter & Gamble led consumer products makers higher after reporting results that easily beat Wall Street's forecasts. The stock gained 3.8%.

D.R. Horton climbed 5.7% after the homebuilder's fiscal third quarter earnings and revenue topped estimates. The builder, which touted increased new home orders and prices, also authorized up to $1 billion in share buybacks. Horton's results helped boost most other homebuilder stocks.

Traders also had their eye on the trade dispute between the U.S. and China, as negotiators began a new round of talks.

The lingering trade war between the U.S. and China has been cutting into corporate profit for some industries all year and has investors concerned that it will continue to crimp business investment and growth. Delegates from the U.S. and China are meeting in Shanghai this week in the latest round of negotiations, months after the trade spat escalated with more tariffs.

President Donald Trump ramped up criticism of Beijing just as the new round of talks began Tuesday. In a series of tweets, Trump claimed China is trying to hold off on an agreement until after the next U.S. elections. Trump threatened to get "much tougher" with China on trade if he wins in 2020.

The remarks didn't appear to have much of an impact on the market, however.

"Investors are coming to the realization that this is going to be a long and drawn-out process, and they can't bet the farm every single time that there's some type of announcement," Cavanaugh said.

Beyond earnings, trade and, investors were looking ahead to other potentially market-moving events this week, including a government jobs report on Friday.

Benchmark crude oil rose $1.18 to settle at $58.05 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, gained $1.01 to close at $64.72 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline added 4 cents to $1.90 per gallon. Heating oil climbed 3 cents to $1.94 per gallon. Natural gas was unchanged at $2.14 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold rose $9.30 to $1,429.70 per ounce, silver rose 13 cents to $16.50 per ounce and copper fell 4 cents to $2.67 per pound.

The dollar fell to 108.60 Japanese yen from 108.80 yen on Monday. The euro strengthened to $1.1156 from $1.1146.

(BE)