Stocks Opened Sharply Lower on Earnings, Data

U.S. stocks opened sharply lower on Tuesday, dragged down by disappointing quarterly results from Caterpillar Inc. and Procter & Gamble Co., and an unexpected drop in durable goods orders. The Dow Jones industrial average lately fell 270.14 points, or 1.53%, to 17,408.56. The S&P 500 lost 24.13 points, or 1.17%, to 2,032.96 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 73.4375.29 points, or 1.548%, to 4,696.48.

Orders for business equipment unexpectedly fell in December for a fourth month, signaling a global growth slowdown is weighing on American companies. Bookings for non-military capital goods excluding aircraft dropped 0.6 percent for a second month, data from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington.

Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N) on Tuesday reported lower quarterly net profit that missed expectations. Caterpillar reported earnings per share of $1.23, compared with $1.54 a year earlier. Analysts expected $1.55 for the most recent quarter. Revenue totaled $14.24 billion, down from $14.4 billion a year earlier, but above expectations of $14.18 billion.

Procter & Gamble’s second-quarter earnings sank 31 percent as the strong U.S. dollar cut into the performance of the world’s largest consumer products maker. In the quarter that ended Dec. 31, P&G earned $2.37 billion, or 82 cents per share. That compares with earnings of $3.43 billion, or $1.18 per share, the previous year.

Home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose at a slower pace in the year ended in November, a sign the industry struggled to find momentum even amid low mortgage rates. The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values increased 4.3 percent from November 2013 after rising 4.5 percent in the year ended in October, the group said Tuesday in New York.