By Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks slid Monday, adding to
Friday's drop, which was led by previously high-flying biotech and
Internet stocks.
Asian and European markets have joined in the tech-led slump.
With Monday's session light on economic data, investors are looking
ahead to the start of first-quarter earnings season, and some
analysts sound downbeat about the upcoming reports.
The S&P 500(SPX) was last down 9 points, or 0.5%, to 1,856,
while the Dow Jones Industrial Average(DJI) shed 64 points, or
0.4%, falling to 16,349 after briefly turning positive. The Nasdaq
Composite(RIXF) slid 26 points, or 0.7%, to 4,102.
On Friday, the Nasdaq fell 2.6% for its worst drop in two
months. The tech-heavy index suffered a weekly loss of 0.7%, while
the S&P 500 and Dow managed weekly gains of 0.4% and more than
0.5%, respectively.
Compared with last week, this week is short on top-tier economic
data, so investors are likely to focus instead on earnings reports
from the first quarter. Alcoa Inc. (AA), the aluminum producer and
former Dow component, unofficially kicks off the earnings season on
Tuesday, when it reports results after the closing bell.
"The next few weeks are shaping up to be fairly gloomy, with
earnings season reminding investors that not only is the Fed taking
a step back from its ultra-supportive stance, but corporate America
is not yet ready to fill the void," said Craig Erlam, market
analyst at Alpari U.K., in a note.
But other analysts have said they're a little skeptical of the
naysayers, adding that this will be the sixteenth quarter or so in
a row where we are being cautioned about earnings.
Among individual stocks on Monday, Internet names TripAdvisor
Inc.(TRIP) and Baidu Inc. (BIDU) were among the Nasdaq's worst
performers. They dropped 1.7% and 1.5%, respectively, adding to
their recent losses.
On the plus side, Questcor Pharmaceuticals Inc.(QCOR) surged 21%
after news that Mallinckrodt (MNK) will buy the drug maker for
about $5.6 billion. (Read more in the Movers & Shakers column
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/questcor-surges-on-buyout-mannkind-sinks-2014-04-07.).
In other markets, Asian and European stock markets lost ground
Monday. The dollar (DXY) edged lower, and oil prices fell, with
Brent taking the biggest hit on reports that Libya may soon reopen
two oil ports. Gold futures dipped and traded below $1,300 an
ounce.
More must-reads from MarketWatch:
Pro-Russia demonstrators storm buildings in Ukraine
Risks in China stimulus
Wal-Mart branded cards to transition to MasterCard
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires