Stocks Opened Lower as Earnings Gathered Pace

U.S. stocks opened lower on Tuesday, as investors weighed quarterly earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 57.56 points, or 0.28%, to 20,579.36. The S&P 500 slid 3.26 points, or 0.14%, to 2,345.75. The Nasdaq Composite fell 4.25 points, or 0.07%, to 5,852.54.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said its first-quarter earnings rose sharply over last year, but lower-than-expected trading revenue caused it to fall short of analyst estimates. The company reported a profit of $2.26 billion, or $5.15 a share. That compares with $1.14 billion, or $2.68 a share, a year ago. Revenue in the first quarter climbed 27% to $8.03 billion from $6.34 billion a year ago.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. reported revenue and profits rose as the company exited many of the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges. The company reported net income of $2.17 billion, or $2.23 a share, compared with $1.61 billion, or $1.67, a year before. Revenue rose 9.4% to $48.72 billion.

Cardinal Health Inc. (CAH) said it had agreed to a $6.1 billion deal for certain Medtronic (MDT) businesses and updated its 2017 guidance. The company now expects fiscal 2017 earnings per share to come in at the bottom of earlier guidance of $5.35 to $5.50, compared with the FactSet consensus of $5.42.