US: Stocks dip on earnings caution

[NEW YORK] US stocks finished modestly lower on Tuesday as cautious sentiment about earnings season offset major deals involving FedEx and Informatica.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 5.43 points (0.03 per cent) to 17,875.42.

The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 4.29 (0.21 per cent) to 2,076.33, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 7.08 (0.14 per cent) at 4,910.23.

Delivery service company FedEx rose 2.7 per cent as it announced it would buy Dutch rival TNT Express for 4.4 billion euros (S$6.5 billion).

Tech company Informatica surged 4.3 per cent after it announced it would be acquired by a company controlled by private-equity firm Permira and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board for about US$5.3 billion.

But investors are edgy ahead of what is expected to be a tepid earnings season. On Wednesday, after the market closes, Alcoa will be the first major company to report.

AFP