(Updates to afternoon trading, adds analyst comment and market
details)
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UnitedHealth ( UNH ) forecasts annual profit below expectations
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Whirlpool plunges after Q2 earnings miss, FY profit
outlook trim
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UPS weighs on Dow Transports
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Indexes down: Dow 0.51%, S&P 500 0.27%, Nasdaq 0.24%
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, July 29 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq
retreated from record highs on Tuesday as some corporate
earnings disappointed, as investors waded through the latest
round of economic data ahead of a Federal Reserve policy
statement.
A host of Dow components reported earnings, with
UnitedHealth ( UNH ), Boeing ( BA ) and Merck ( MRK ) all
trading lower after their quarterly results.
Health insurer UnitedHealth ( UNH ) fell 5.2% as the biggest drag on the
Dow after a disappointing profit forecast, while Boeing ( BA ) lost
3.7% despite reporting a smaller second-quarter loss.
Merck ( MRK ) shed 2.6% after the drugmaker reported its quarterly
results and said it was extending its pause on shipments of HPV
vaccine Gardasil to China until at least the end of 2025 due to
persistent weakness in demand.
"Earnings have been a bit of a mix. Economic data has been
somewhat mixed too, but not enough to move the needle in terms
of the Fed," said Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at
Ingalls & Snyder in New York.
"The next two days, you have Microsoft ( MSFT ), Meta, Apple ( AAPL ), Amazon ( AMZN )
- those are big companies, and they will move markets depending
on how the earnings are and how the outlooks are."
Earnings from megacaps Meta, Microsoft ( MSFT ),
Amazon ( AMZN ) and Apple ( AAPL ) are scheduled later this week
and are likely to have a strong impact on market direction.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 228.54 points,
or 0.51%, to 44,608.93, the S&P 500 lost 17.15 points, or
0.27%, to 6,372.62 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 51.25
points, or 0.24%, to 21,127.34.
United Parcel Service ( UPS ) shares plunged 9.3% as the package
delivery company posted earnings and again declined to issue
annual revenue and margin forecasts, deepening concerns that
U.S. President Donald Trump's continually changing trade policy
is weighing on the company.
The Dow Jones Transport average fell 2.2% and was on
track for its biggest daily percentage decline since late May.
Likewise, Whirlpool plummeted more than 12% after the
home appliances maker slashed its annual earnings forecast and
dividend, as the appliance maker cited pressure from a
pull-forward in imports by rivals ahead of Trump's tariffs.
With nearly 200 S&P 500 components having reported earnings,
79.7% have topped analyst expectations, according to LSEG data,
compared with a 6.3% beat rate over the last four quarters.
On the economic front, consumer confidence in July increased
more than expected to 97.2. In June, U.S. job openings and
hiring, or JOLTS data, had decreased, pointing to a further
slowdown in labor market activity.
The JOLTS report was the first in a string of data on the
labor market this week, culminating in Friday's government
payrolls report.
The Fed is expected to leave rates unchanged at its policy
announcement on Wednesday and traders will closely analyze
remarks by Fed Chair Jerome Powell to gauge the timing of any
potential rate cuts.
The S&P had notched a sixth straight closing record high on
Monday, after a U.S.-EU trade deal that halved tariffs to 15%
and boosted expectations of more agreements ahead of Trump's
August 1 deadline. Trump has also floated a potential "world
tariff" of 15% to 20% for non-negotiating countries.
Key negotiations between the U.S. and China completed their
second day in Stockholm as the world's two leading economies aim
to resolve their trade conflict, with Trump saying he was told
by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that he had a very good
meeting with Chinese officials.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.02-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 1.98-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 32 new 52-week highs and nine new lows,
while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 71 new highs and 67 new
lows.