NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks moved broadly lower on Wall Street in early trading on Tuesday, reversing course from a three-day rally.
Health care and consumer products companies led the market lower.
Walgreens Boots Alliance plunged
after it slashed its forecast following a weak quarter. Competitor CVS followed it lower.
Technology and financial stocks bucked the downward trend. Apple and Cisco both made gains. Ameriprise Financial rose 3.4%.
Dow Inc., which makes plastics and other products for both consumer and industrial uses, rose 4.1% in its first day of trading after being spun off from chemical maker DowDuPont.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 89 points, or 0.3% as of 11 a.m. The S&P 500 index fell 0.1% and the Nasdaq composite index fell 0.1%.
TAKE AN ASPIRIN: Walgreens had a headache of a quarter as insurers trimmed prescription costs, generic drug prices dropped and brand-name medication prices stalled.
Al those factors resulted in a 14% drop in second-quarter profit, which the company’s CEO described as the most difficult quarter the nation’s largest drugstore has faced since forming a few years ago.
Walgreens also slashed its forecast for 2019.
The stock fell 12% and helped push down key competitor CVS Health by 4%.
LIFTOFF: Delta rose 6% after raising its profit forecast for the current quarter, citing a passenger demand. The company also said fuel costs were less than expected and it extended a credit card partnership with American Express.
Other airlines also rose. United Continental rose 3% and American Airlines climbed 2%, and JetBlue rose 1%.
LOADED POTATO: Lamb Weston Holdings rose 3% after the potato products company beat quarterly profit and revenue forecasts. It also raised its full-year sales forecast. The company specializes in frozen potato products, including french fries, mashed potatoes and hash browns.
