NEW YORK — The stock market put its big rally on hold Tuesday after disappointing earnings and economic reports reminded investors of the obstacles still facing the economy.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 38 points after rising 208 Monday on brighter economic news. All the major indexes fell moderately.
Investors were unhappy with just about every major earnings or economic report Tuesday. Procter & Gamble Co. and Dow Chemical Co. reported earnings and revenue that fell short of forecasts.
Consumer spending and income figures showed that people are still very cautious with their money. Factory orders fell in June, as did the number of homes that were under contract to be sold.
The stream of bad news was a reminder that the recovery is going to be bumpy and slow. So, following the market’s pattern of recent months, they gave back some of Monday’s big gain, which was due in part to manufacturing news that was better than expected. Trading has been erratic since the spring amid the conflicting signals about the recovery, and many traders are quick to cash in any profits.
Traders are also uneasy ahead of the Labor Department’s July employment report due out Friday. Consumers are not expected to significantly increase their spending until they feel more secure about their jobs.
Dan Cook, a Chicago- based senior market analyst with the brokerage firm IG Markets, said many traders stayed out of the market while they waited for the employment report.
The government is expected to report that employers cut 65,000 jobs last month, but that includes temporary census workers who were laid off. The unemployment rate is expected to have risen to 9.6 percent from June’s 9.5 percent.
The Dow fell 38.00, or 0.4 percent, to 10,636.38. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 5.40, or 0.5 percent, to 1,120.46, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 11.84, or 0.5 percent, to 2,283.52.
Earnings Molson Coors’ net income rose 27 percent in the second quarter.
