US stocks fall ahead of earnings season

NEW YORK: US stocks fell Monday ahead of the opening of earnings
season, with the slow economy and worries about European stability and
Chinese growth pressing down on sentiment.


But insurer Wellpoint's US$4.9 billion deal to take over smaller
rival Amerigroup gave a spark to healthcare stocks, helping the sector
buck the downtrend.


The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 36.18 points (0.28
percent) to 12,736.29, having earlier been down as much as 86 points.


The S&P 500 lost 2.22 points (0.16 percent) to 1,352.46, while the tech-rich Nasdaq slid 5.55 (0.19 percent) to 2,931.77.






Pessimism over second quarter earnings coupled with more signs of weakness from Japan and China to push shares down.


"Expectations are overwhelmingly negative," said Evariste Lefeuvre, an economist with Natixis.


Trade was heavy in Amerigroup and Wellpoint after the announcement of their merger, with Wellpoint paying US$92 a share.


Amerigroup's shares jumped 38 percent to US$88.79, while Wellpoint was up 3.4 percent to US$61.95.


Alcoa, which kicked off earnings season after the markets closed,
was up 0.4 percent ahead of its second quarter results release.


The aluminum giant turned in a net loss for the three months of
US$2 million, in line with expectations, with operating profit of US$63
million offset by a series of special items.


Merck led the gainers of the Dow 30 with a 1.5 percent gain; Boeing
was up 0.5 percent after announcing a US$7.2 billion order for 75 of
its 737 MAX jets from Air Lease Corporation.


DuPont led Dow losers falling 2.9 percent.


On the Nasdaq, Apple gained 1.3 percent, Seagate added 4.1 percent, and Research in Motion dropped 5.3 percent. -- AFP