Investing.com - The Dow fell Monday as downbeat earnings from Caterpillar and Nvidia fuelled concerns about a slowdown in global growth.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.84%, the S&P 500 lost 0.78%, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.11%.
Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) tumbled after reporting fourth-quarter earnings that missed forecasts. The heavy equipment maker also guided full-year earnings below consensus estimates. Its share price fell 9% and dragged the Dow Jones Industrials lower by about 70 points.
Caterpillar's dour earnings and guidance triggered weakness in Boeing (NYSE:BA), Deere (NYSE:DE) and Cummins (NYSE:CMI), pressuring industrials to close more than 1% lower.
Chipmaker Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) slashed its guidance for the fiscal 2019 fourth quarter and reported data center revenue that missed estimates. It blamed declining macro conditions, particularly in China, which hurt growth and margins in its gaming and data center businesses. Its share price fell 14%.
"While we view the gaming issues as unsurprising, we think the incremental softness on gross margins suggests a continued pause in Data Center," RBC said. "With this in mind, we think the next 3-to-4 months will remain challenging."
The duo of negative reports comes ahead of the busiest week for corporate earnings, which will include reports from tech heavyweights Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB).
Falling energy stocks also weighed on the broader market following a slump in oil prices as weak Chinese industrial production data flagged concerns about global growth that could hurt global oil demand growth.
The slowdown in China's economy has been exacerbated by its months-long trade dispute with the United States. But investors are hopeful the two nations can find a way to resolve their bitter trade dispute, with a new round of high-level U.S.-China trade talks set to get underway later in the week.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, a China trade hawk, will lead the discussions, President Donald Trump's administration said
In a sign of investor concerns on risk, defensive concerns of the market were in favor as consumer staples closed higher, led by gains in shares of Estee Lauder (NYSE:EL) and Altria (NYSE:MO).
In other corporate news, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) closed lower, but pared the bulk of its losses despite Saudi Arabia reportedly hedging their stake in the automaker to cut their net exposure to the stock.
Top S&P 500 Gainers and Losers Today:
American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL), Estee Lauder (NYSE:EL) and Altria (NYSE:MO) among the top S&P 500 gainers for the session.
Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) and Freeport-McMoran (NYSE:FCX) were among the worst S&P 500 performers of the session.