U.S. stocks ended a choppy session lower on Monday as investors grew more nervous ahead of the third-quarter earnings reporting season.Supply chain problems and higher costs for energy and other things have fueled concern about earnings, set to kick off with JPMorgan Chase & Co results on Wednesday.
Indexes reversed early gains, and JPMorgan shares were down and among the biggest drags on the S&P 500, while the S&P financial index was also lower.
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 30.56 points, or 0.70%, to end at 4,360.78 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 95.94 points, or 0.66%, to 14,483.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 252.12 points, or 0.73%, to 34,494.13.
“I was surprised to see the market up this morning because earnings season is right ahead of us, and the market is a bit cautious going into this earnings season,” said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel in New York.
“Supply chain issues may have impacted earnings for a number of companies and certain industries more than others.”
Another period of strong U.S. profit growth is forecast as third-quarter reports from Corporate America flow in starting next week, with analysts expecting a 29.6% year-over-year increase in profit for S&P 500 companies in the third quarter, according to IBES data from Refinitiv as of Friday.
