US close: Street heads for red at start of busy week

Wall Street trading ended Monday’s session with losses, as higher US Treasury bond yields offset a sizeable earnings beat from heavy equipment manufacturer Caterpillar.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.57% at 25,306.83, the S&P 500 lost 0.58% to close at 2,802.60, and the Nasdaq 100 slid 1.42% to 7,913.10.

“The Dow Jones didn't do much as the afternoon session got underway, anxious ahead of a busy week that runs the gamut from Tuesday's Q3 results from Apple through Wednesday's Fed meeting to Friday's non-farm jobs report,” said Connor Campbell, a financial analyst at SpreadEx, earlier.

“There wasn't really much to talk about, Monday the calm before a week that could well come to dictate the rest of the summer.”

Shares in the US finished lower on Friday, weighed down by renewed losses in the technology space, with sentiment souring after Twitter's latest quarterly update sent the company's stock diving.

It followed a sharp drop in Facebook stock the day before after the social media giant marked down its forecasts for profit margins in 2018.

“Stock markets have been gradually rising in recent weeks, making their way back to the record high levels they achieved earlier in the year before the numerous trade conflicts involving the US heated up,” said Craig Erlam at Oanda.

“Earnings season has delivered a positive distraction for investors, with companies once again reporting stellar quarterly results aided by the obvious benefit of tax cuts.

“We'll get results from another 144 S&P 500 companies this week as US corporates look to continue the positive momentum of earnings season so far and potentially propel the index to a new high.”

On the economic front, the National Association of Home Builders pending home sales index rose for the first time in three months in June.

Pending home sales, which is based on contract signings on previously owned homes, increased 0.9% month-on-month in June - something the NAHB said could be a sign that "the worst of the supply crunch affecting most of the country" may very well be over.

Analysts expected sales to rise just 0.01%.

Earlier, climbing three basis points at the start of the week, US 10-year Treasury yields hit 2.97% amidst speculation that the Bank of Japan could tweak its bond-buying policy when rate-setters in Tokyo met the next day.

In corporate news, Caterpillar dropped 2.01% despite raising its full-year earnings per share forecast, and Tyson Foods fell 7.61% after revealing that Trump's recent trade spat with China had led it to cut its full-year earnings per share.

Dow Jones - Risers

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $64.81 2.08%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $127.83 1.48%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $52.49 0.92%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $88.88 0.85%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $69.16 0.76%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $158.64 0.74%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $116.73 0.60%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $238.95 0.55%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $132.22 0.51%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $38.61 0.47%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Visa Inc. (V) $136.50 -3.01%
American Express Co. (AXP) $100.85 -2.89%
Boeing Co. (BA) $351.06 -2.66%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $105.37 -2.15%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $139.75 -1.97%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $75.96 -1.21%
3M Co. (MMM) $205.12 -1.11%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $133.09 -1.07%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $42.17 -0.94%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $253.84 -0.82%

S&P 500 - Risers

Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $4.67 5.90%
Franklin Resources Inc. (BEN) $34.31 5.73%
Invesco Ltd. (IVZ) $27.35 5.35%
Affiliated Mgrs Group (AMG) $158.72 5.08%
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (GT) $24.12 4.19%
Legg Mason Inc. (LM) $34.25 4.07%
Newfield Exploration Co (NFX) $28.67 4.07%
Molson Coors Brewing Co. Class B (TAP) $66.77 3.87%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $13.38 3.64%
AutoNation Inc. (AN) $47.62 3.64%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN) $58.72 -7.61%
Sysco Corp. (SYY) $66.67 -6.73%
Teradata Corp. (TDC) $37.99 -5.71%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $334.96 -5.70%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $126.21 -5.68%
Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $75.29 -5.46%
CBS Corp. (CBS) $51.28 -5.05%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $242.32 -4.90%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $202.68 -4.54%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $138.03 -4.09%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $24.89 4.54%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $88.91 2.87%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $293.90 2.66%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $90.02 2.31%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $79.11 1.96%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $225.19 1.87%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $30.63 1.59%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $304.59 1.38%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $174.42 1.35%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $36.66 1.21%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $113.11 -7.73%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $334.96 -5.70%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $126.21 -5.68%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $123.90 -5.09%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $242.32 -4.90%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $202.68 -4.54%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $289.24 -3.95%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $82.39 -3.59%
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $89.33 -3.51%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $72.75 -3.46%