Stocks Tumbled at Open as Caterpillar Missed Expectations

U.S. stocks tumbled at open on Monday, as investors digested weak quarterly results from several major companies, including Caterpillar. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 339.40 points, or 1.37%, to 24,397.80. The S&P 500 slipped by 31.45 points, or 1.18%, to 2,633.31. The Nasdaq Composite declined 115.29 points, or 1.61%, to 7,049.58.

Oil prices fell Monday, reflecting fresh concerns over supply after data late last week showed the U.S. oil-rig count rising for the 10th straight week. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery fell 93 cents, or 1.7%, to $52.77 a barrel. March Brent crude fell $1.09, or 1.8%, to $60.55 a barrel.

Caterpillar (CAT) missed Wall Street’s expectations for fourth-quarter 2018 results and provided a tepid outlook for 2019 as slowing growth in China and tariffs continue to weigh on the company’s performance. Caterpillar delivered adjusted earnings of $2.55 per share on revenue of $14.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018. It reported its profit guidance for the full-year 2019 for the first time Monday and said it foresees profits of $11.75 to $12.75 per share.

NVIDIA (NVDA) just cut its guidance for Q4 fiscal 2019. Management now expects the company to report revenue of $2.20 billion, down from previous guidance of $2.70 billion.