Wall Street: Tuesday open
INVESTORS sent stocks lower after three straight days of gains, opting to collect profits ahead of first-quarter earnings reports.
Stocks posted impressive gains in five of the last six sessions, with the Dow Jones industrial average gaining 228.74, or 2.2% since March 29. Analysts believed it was merely a matter of time before sellers would take advantage of the higher prices.
In the first hour of trading, the Dow dropped 35.85, or 0.3% to 10,522.52 and the Nasdaq composite index fell 15.72, or 0.8% to 2,063.40.
Earnings season began with two reports before the session. UTi Worldwide, a shipping logistics company, was up 27 cents at $44.37 after the company beat Wall Street estimates by 3 cents and declared an annual dividend.
Racing company International Speedway posted record results in line with expectations, but lost 61 cents to $48.65.
Black & Decker upped its quarterly earnings outlook by 20 cents per share, based on strong demand. The tool manufacturer, which will officially announce earnings on April 20, was up $1.09 at $59.09.
Cereal maker Kellogg jumped $1.54 to $41.04 after it announced that its earnings per share would be 30 percent higher than a year ago. The company, due to release its earnings report April 22, also increased its full-year outlook.
Yahoo! dropped 90 cents to $49.09 after the internet company was downgraded from 'buy' to 'neutral.' The company is scheduled to announce its first quarter earnings after Wednesday's session.
Bank of America, which is newly merged with FleetBoston Financial, was unchanged at $81.25 after Monday's late announcement that it would cut 12,500 jobs over the next few years.
