IBB iShares Biotechnology ETF

By Anora Mahmudova and Wallace Witkowski, MarketWatch

Qualcomm shares plunge after Apple lawsuit

U.S. stocks dipped Monday as investors wrestled with uncertainty over the policies of President Donald Trump and as a batch of corporate quarterly results came out mixed.

A swath of S&P 500 components, 34, are scheduled to report results this week, including a few Dow components. Of the 54 companies that have reported so far, 74% are beating earnings estimates by a median of 5%, according to Fundstrat.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off by 49 points, or 0.3%, at 19,778, with Boeing Co. (BA), General Electric Co. (GE), and Exxon Mobil Corp.(XOM) leading the losses, all down more than 1%. Another Dow component McDonald's Corp (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mcdonalds-expected-to-report-weak-sales-but-analysts-are-optimistic-long-term-2017-01-20).(MCD) also weighed even after the fast-food giant reported earnings that beat expectations.

The S&P 500 slipped 9 points, or 0.4%, to 2,262, with nine of the main 11 sectors trading lower. Energy shares were hit hardest as oil prices sank, with industrials the second poorest performers.

The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 9 points, or 0.2%, to 5,547, dragged lower by a selloff in biotechnology shares. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was down 0.6%.

Stocks initially pared losses as the first official Trump administration news briefing, hosted by press secretary, Sean Spicer, got under way Monday, following a weekend of protests across the country and world in the wake of Trump's inauguration. But that modest paring of losses evaporated later.

Trump promised to cut regulations by 75% and renegotiate trade deals at a Monday morning meeting with business leaders from companies, including Ford Motor Co.(F) and Dow Chemical Co.(DOW), to discuss ways to create U.S. jobs and boost the economy.

Fulfilling a campaign promise, Trump signed an order officially pulling the U.S. out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Congress had never ratified the agreement.

On deck, Trump has set up meetings with Canadian and Mexican leaders, and will host U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday to lay the groundwork for a trade pact (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/with-focus-on-trade-trump-to-meet-canada-mexico-uk-leaders-2017-01-22). .

"It's still early stages of Trump's administration and so far it's all sound bites and not real action. People should pay attention to what he accomplishes in the first 100 days in office and not so much to what he says," said Maris Ogg, president at Tower Bridge Advisors.

On the earnings front, she said, "the fourth-quarter numbers are coming in fine, but we are a little concerned about first-quarter earnings as the rapid rise in the dollar would have impacted companies, especially international companies."

Need to know:'Bond King' says look east if you're nervous about the U.S. bull market under Trump (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nervous-about-the-us-bull-market-under-trump-the-bond-king-says-to-look-east-2017-01-23)

On the earnings front, "investors will not only be watching for continued signs of improving sales and earnings, but also will closely analyze just what management teams are saying about their outlook for their businesses under the new administration," wrote Andrew Adams, market strategist at Raymond James in emailed notes.

Opinion:10 popular stocks at risk from Trump's 'America first' inauguration speech (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-popular-stocks-at-risk-from-trumps-america-first-inauguration-speech-2017-01-20)

Some fear the postelection rally for stocks may continue to unwind if Trump doesn't start to get more specific about his fiscal plans.

Read:All investment decisions must be re-evaluated as the Trump era dawns (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/stock-market-braces-for-sea-change-as-donald-trump-takes-charge-2017-01-21)

Stock movers:Halliburton Co.(HAL) shares dropped 2.6% as the company beat profit expectations, but posted a sales miss (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/halliburton-beats-profit-expectations-but-sales-miss-2017-01-23).

Yahoo Inc (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/yahoo-earnings-preview-nothing-really-matters-2017-01-20).(YHOO) will report results after the close.The Securities and Exchange Commission has opened a probe into whether Yahoo should have reported its two big data breaches sooner to investors, The Wall Street Journal reported (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sec-said-to-be-investigating-yahoo-over-massive-data-breaches-2017-01-22). Shares were last up 0.4%.

See:Jeff Reeves on 6 tech stocks that could move big on earnings (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/6-tech-stocks-that-could-move-big-on-earnings-2017-01-21)

Foxconn Technology Group(2354.TW) may build a display-panel manufacturing facility in the U.S (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/foxconn-may-team-with-apple-to-build-7-billion-manufacturing-facility-in-us-2017-01-22). as part of a joint venture with Apple Inc.(AAPL), worth up to 50,000 jobs, the company's chairman said Sunday.

Shares of Humana Inc.(HUM) and Aetna Inc.(AET) fell following reports that the merger between the two insurers has been blocked.

Qualcomm Inc.(QCOM) shares plunged 12% after Apple Inc. filed a lawsuit for $1 billion late Friday, alleging the company sought "onerous" terms in a chip deal (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apple-sues-qualcomm-for-1-billion-2017-01-20).

(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apple-sues-qualcomm-for-1-billion-2017-01-20)AMC Entertainment Holding Inc. (AMC) announced Monday a deal to buy Stockholm-based Nordic Cinema Group Holding AB for the equivalent of $292 million in cash (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/amc-entertainment-next-big-acquisition-is-swedens-nordic-chttp:/www.marketwatch.com/story/amc-entertainment-next-big-acquisition-is-swedens-nordic-cinema-for-929-million-2017-01-23inema-for-929-million-2017-01-23).

Other markets: European stocks finished lower (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-pull-lower-after-trumps-speech-2017-01-23), while in Asia, the Nikkei 225 lost 1.3% on yen strength. The 10-year Treasury yield (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/treasury-yields-tick-lower-as-investors-hope-for-more-policy-details-2017-01-23) moved lower, falling 7 basis points to 2.40%. The dollar (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/yen-rises-dollar-falls-as-trump-inauguration-speech-fails-to-impress-2017-01-23) moved lower across the board, while dollar-priced gold , which can benefits from weakness in the buck, settled up 0.9% at $1,215.60 an ounce.

Oil prices (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-steady-in-wake-of-saudi-comments-on-supply-2017-01-23) fell after a short-lived boost from Saudi Arabia, whose oil officials expressed confidence that a deal to cut production is putting a dent on excess supply.

--Barbara Kollmeyer in Madrid contributed to this article.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 23, 2017 15:00 ET (20:00 GMT)

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