U.S. stocks slumped today, with equities headed for their longest losing streak since January, following the sharpest drop in Chinese stocks in eight years, on worries cooling growth in the world's second-largest economy would hurt its key trading partners.
The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) slipped 0.7 percent to 2,065.88 at 3:47 p.m. in New York. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) sank 0.8 percent to 17,421.18, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) declined 1 percent to 5,036.96.
A report today showed industrial profits in the world’s second-biggest economy fell in June, sending Chinese shares tumbling on speculation a government intervention to stem a market selloff can’t be sustained amid weak growth. Data on Friday showed a private manufacturing gauge unexpectedly declined in July to a 15-month low.
MOVERS:
ADRS of Teva Pharmaceutical (NYSE:TEVA) jumped 15.4 percent to $71.35 after it agreed to buy Allergan (NYSE:AGN) generic drugs business for $40.5 billion, giving up on its bid to buy Mylan (NASDAQ:MYL). Allergan was up 6.0 percent to $326.77 while Mylan fell 15.5 percent to $55.92.
In industrials, Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) slipped 0.5 percent to $82.55 as U.S. railroad Norfolk Southern reported a lower quarterly net profit that was hurt by a steep decline in coal freight shipments and falling fuel surcharge revenue.
Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) retreated 0.6 percent to $43.83. Delta will take a 3.55 percent stake in China Eastern Airlines for $450 million.
UBS (NYSE:UBS) skidded 1.6 percent to $21.95 after the Swiss bank was prompted to release quarterly results early due to an erroneous media report. Second-quarter net profit beat expectations.
McGraw Hill Financial (NYSE:MHFI) sank 5.8 percent to $99.41. The parent of Standard and Poor's announced a deal to buy SNL Financial for $2.225 billion in cash.
Box (NYSE:BOX) rose 2.0 percent to $16.61. Pacific Crest upgraded the cloud services provider's stock to "overweight," citing major customer additions and new partnerships.
Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) rose 0.5 percent to $61.94. Morgan Stanley upgraded the chip maker to "overweight," saying the market has become too pessimistic and that Qualcomm's recent cost cutting moves and new product releases are sources of momentum for the company and the stock.
Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) added 0.3 percent to $530.60. The online retail giant reportedly plans to open its first drive-through grocery store in Silicon Valley.
Fiat Chrysler (NYSE:FCAU) decreased 5.3 percent to $14.35 at $14.35 after the U.S. auto safety watchdog, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), announced a $105 million fine against the automaker over lapses in its safety recalls.
COMMODITIES:
August gold climbed 1 percent to settle at $1,096.40 an ounce on Comex, after tapping an intraday high of $1,104.40.
U.S. crude for September ended down 1.56 percent at $47.39 a barrel.