MARKET SNAPSHOT: Stock Market Slumps As Trump Uncertainty Rattles Investors

By Anora Mahmudova and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

Qualcomm shares plunge after Apple lawsuit

U.S. stocks traded lower early Monday amid uncertainty over the policies of President Donald Trump as well as a mixed batch of corporate quarterly results.

A swath of S&P 500 components, 34, are scheduled to report results this week, including a few Dow components. Of the 54 companies that have reported so far, 74% are beating earnings estimates by a median of 5%, according to Fundstrat.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off by 62 points, or 0.3%, at 19,764, with Boeing Co. (BA) and General Electric Co. (GE) leading the losses, down more than 1%. Another Dow component McDonald's Corp (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mcdonalds-expected-to-report-weak-sales-but-analysts-are-optimistic-long-term-2017-01-20).(MCD) also weighed even after the fast-food giant reported earnings that beat expectations.

The S&P 500 slipped 9 points, or 0.4%, to 2,262, with eight of the main 11 sectors trading lower. Energy shares were hit hardest as oil prices sank.

The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 22 points, or 0.4%, to 5,533, dragged lower by a selloff in biotechnology shares. The iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was down 1.2%.

"It's still early stages of Trump's administration and so far it's all sound bites and not real action. People should pay attention to what he accomplishes in the first 100 days in office and not so much to what he says," said Maris Ogg, president at Tower Bridge Advisors.

On the earnings front, she said, "the fourth-quarter numbers are coming in fine, but we are a little concerned about first-quarter earnings as the rapid rise in the dollar would have impacted companies, especially international companies."

Need to know:'Bond King' says look east if you're nervous about the U.S. bull market under Trump (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nervous-about-the-us-bull-market-under-trump-the-bond-king-says-to-look-east-2017-01-23)

Meanwhile, Trump met with business leaders in Washington on Monday morning, promising to cut regulations by 75% and renegotiate trade deals. He has set up meetings with Canadian and Mexican leaders, and will host U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday to lay the grounds for a trade pact (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/with-focus-on-trade-trump-to-meet-canada-mexico-uk-leaders-2017-01-22). The new president has said he would renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.

"Investors will not only be watching for continued signs of improving sales and earnings, but also will closely analyze just what management teams are saying about their outlook for their businesses under the new administration," wrote Andrew Adams, market strategist at Raymond James in emailed notes.

Opinion:10 popular stocks at risk from Trump's 'America first' inauguration speech (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-popular-stocks-at-risk-from-trumps-america-first-inauguration-speech-2017-01-20)

Some fear the postelection rally for stocks may continue to unwind if Trump doesn't start to get more specific about his fiscal plans.

Investors will be watching closely the first official Trump administration news briefing on Monday, following a weekend of protests across the U.S. against his presidency. Trump is scheduled to appear at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

Read:All investment decisions must be re-evaluated as the Trump era dawns (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/stock-market-braces-for-sea-change-as-donald-trump-takes-charge-2017-01-21)

Stock movers:Halliburton Co.(HAL) shares dropped 3.4% as the company beat profit expectations, but posted a sales miss (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/halliburton-beats-profit-expectations-but-sales-miss-2017-01-23).

Yahoo Inc (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/yahoo-earnings-preview-nothing-really-matters-2017-01-20).(YHOO) will report results after the close.The Securities and Exchange Commission has opened a probe into whether Yahoo should have reported its two big data breaches sooner to investors, The Wall Street Journal reported (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sec-said-to-be-investigating-yahoo-over-massive-data-breaches-2017-01-22).

See:Jeff Reeves on 6 tech stocks that could move big on earnings (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/6-tech-stocks-that-could-move-big-on-earnings-2017-01-21)

Foxconn Technology Group(2354.TW) may build a display-panel manufacturing facility in the U.S (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/foxconn-may-team-with-apple-to-build-7-billion-manufacturing-facility-in-us-2017-01-22). as part of a joint venture with Apple Inc.(AAPL), worth up to 50,000 jobs, the company's chairman said Sunday.

Qualcomm Inc.(QCOM) shares plunged 11% after Apple Inc. filed a lawsuit for $1 billion late Friday, alleging the company sought "onerous" terms in a chip deal (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apple-sues-qualcomm-for-1-billion-2017-01-20).

(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apple-sues-qualcomm-for-1-billion-2017-01-20)AMC Entertainment Holding Inc. (AMC) announced Monday a deal to buy Stockholm-based Nordic Cinema Group Holding AB for the equivalent of $292 million in cash (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/amc-entertainment-next-big-acquisition-is-swedens-nordic-chttp:/www.marketwatch.com/story/amc-entertainment-next-big-acquisition-is-swedens-nordic-cinema-for-929-million-2017-01-23inema-for-929-million-2017-01-23).

Other markets: European stocks drifted lower in early trade (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-pull-lower-after-trumps-speech-2017-01-23), while in Asia, the Nikkei 225 lost 1.3% on yen strength. The 10-year Treasury yields (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/treasury-yields-tick-lower-as-investors-hope-for-more-policy-details-2017-01-23)moved lower, falling 5 basis points to 2.41%. The dollar (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/yen-rises-dollar-falls-as-trump-inauguration-speech-fails-to-impress-2017-01-23) moved lower across the board, while dollar-priced gold , which can benefits from weakness in the buck, extended its recent gains in Monday trade.

Oil prices (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-steady-in-wake-of-saudi-comments-on-supply-2017-01-23) fell after a short-lived boost from Saudi Arabia, whose oil officials expressed confidence that a deal to cut production is putting a dent on excess supply.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 23, 2017 11:12 ET (16:12 GMT)

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