NEW YORK — Wall Street pulled back Tuesday, with the Dow Jones industrials tumbling more than 100 points as a rush of quarterly results from bellwethers like AT&T, DuPont and McDonald’s failed to impress investors. Oil prices also reached fresh highs, raising concerns about inflation.
AT&T’s earnings met Wall Street’s forecast while McDonald’s and DuPont reported stronger-than-expected numbers. But DuPont said a U.S. slowdown will offset growth abroad, and McDonald’s said an important metric of its sales showed a decline for March. All three companies are among the 30 stocks that make up the Dow.
The comments gave trading a cautious tone. With hundreds of companies still to report results, investors are anxious over what the figures might say about the prospects for the economy.
“We’ve melted here, but it isn’t a plunge,” said Art Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co. “We’re in a day-to- day assessment of how good earnings season is, and right now there’s more bad news than good news — the parade has been less positive than we’ve anticipated.”
Oil’s seemingly relentless march higher this year raises the specter of higher inflation that would lead consumers to cut back their discretionary spending. It would also make the Federal Reserve less likely to keep lowering interest rates.
Light, sweet crude for May delivery rose as high as $119.90 a barrel, then slipped back to settle at $119.37, up $1.89. But it appeared inevitable that crude would pass $120.
The Dow fell 104.79, or 0.82 percent, to 12,720.23.
Broader stock indicators also declined. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 12.23, or 0.88 percent, to 1,375.94, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 31.10, or 1.29 percent, to 2,376.94.
Bond prices edged up. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.68 percent from 3.72 percent late Monday. The yield moved to 3.69 percent in after-hours trading.
The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.
Some of the latest earnings reports appeared to confirm concerns about the economy, analysts said.
“It takes awhile for the economy’s situation to work its way down to the companies,” said Alexander Paris, economist and market analyst for Chicago-based Barrington Research. “What’s going on is earnings are reflecting the reality of a slowing economy, and that should go on until the second half of the year.”
The rising price of oil again sent energy stocks higher. Ex xon Mobil rose 13 cents to $94.39, while Chevron rose $1.33 to $94.03.
