US stocks wobble, extending a slump; Gap plunges

NEW YORK – Stocks are inching lower in early trading Tuesday, extending a slump that has brought the market lower for the past four trading days.

Corporate news was mixed. Most companies have now reported their third-quarter results, and reports from retailers are coming in. That should give investors some insight into how the holiday shopping season is shaping up.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial was down 24 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,705 as of 10:07 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell two points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,076. The Nasdaq composite gave up 29 points, or 0.6 percent, to 5,066.

The Dow and S&P 500 fell about 1 percent Monday on concerns the global economy could be slowing. That was their biggest decline in six weeks.

EARNINGS: Gap plunged $1.42, or 5.1 percent, to $26.27 after the company posted disappointing results for October, including lower overall sales. Rockwell Automation fell $4.34, or 4 percent, to $103.45 after the industrial equipment and software maker’s earnings came in short of what analysts were looking for.

Homebuilder D.R. Horton rose $1.34, or 4.7 percent, to $30.11 after its fiscal fourth-quarter results surpassed analyst estimates.

APPLE SLIPS: Apple lost $2.42, or 2.4 percent, to $117.63 after Credit Suisse said Apple cut orders for some components in Asia by up to 10 percent, suggesting weak demand for the iPhone 6s. Apple’s loss weighed down tech stocks.

BONDS: Bond prices didn’t move much. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note held steady at 2.35 percent.

OVERSEAS: Germany’s DAX rose 0.3 percent and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.1 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.2 percent.

GLOBAL OUTLOOK: Investors were spooked by more signs of a slowdown in the world economy. China’s inflation rate fell. That’s a sign of economic weakness, though it should give China’s central bank space to offer more stimulus.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development warned that slower growth in emerging market economies and world trade has weakened global growth.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 55 cents to $44.42 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, rose 42 cents to $47.61 a barrel in London.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 123.39 yen from 123.11 yen on Monday. The euro slipped to $1.0683 from $1.0758.