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Business Breaking

U.S. stock indexes slide in afternoon trading; oil price falls

ASSOCIATED PRESS

The New York Stock Exchange. Stocks are edging lower in early trading on Wall Street, led by declines in banks and materials companies.

Energy companies led U.S. stock indexes broadly lower in afternoon trading today as the price of crude oil declined. Phone company and materials stocks were also among the big decliners. Investors were weighing the latest batch of company earnings news.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average was down 33 points, or 0.2 percent, to 20,037 as of 1:45 p.m. Eastern Time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index slid 7 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,289. The Nasdaq composite index gave up 13 points, or 0.2 percent, to 5,653. On Friday the Nasdaq closed at a record high and the S&P 500 came within a point of its own all-time high.

THE QUOTE: “We’re not quite breaking out, we’re not really going down. We’re just caught in this range,” said Ryan Detrick, senior market strategist at LPL Financial. “When you look at why, at least today, it’s the realization that earnings season is OK, but it’s not quite as good as we might have hoped.”

ENERGY: Several energy companies were trading lower. Devon Energy slid $1.38, or 3 percent, to $45.41, while Chesapeake Energy dipped 19 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $6.39. Marathon Oil shed 51 cents, or 3 percent, to $16.72.

MALL WOES: Newell Brands slid 4.4 percent after the maker of Rubbermaid, Sharpie, Elmer’s Glue and other products reported disappointing sales and issued a full-year sales forecast that fell far short of analysts’ estimates. The company said the strong dollar and fewer people shopping at malls hurt sales of some key products. The stock fell $2.07 to $44.82.

MIXED RESULTS: Sysco was down 3.4 percent after the food company reported better earnings, but its revenue was weaker than expected. The stock lost $1.81 to $50.73.

EXECUTIVE SHUFFLE: Tiffany & Co. fell 2.6 percent a day after the jewelry company’s CEO stepped down amid concerns about the company’s financial performance. Tiffany has begun to search for a successor to Frederic Cumenal, who was named chief executive of the company in April 2015. Michael Kowalski, chairman of the board of directors and previous CEO of Tiffany, was tapped to serve as interim CEO. The stock shed $2.12 to $78.32.

PROBED: Shares in Tyson Foods were down 3.8 percent after the company disclosed in a quarterly filing that it has received a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission as part of an antitrust probe. The stock shed $2.46 to $62.93.

PLAYTIME: Hasbro vaulted 14.8 percent after the toymaker’s fourth-quarter profit and sales beat Wall Street’s estimates. The company reported better sales of toys marketed to girls, including Disney Princess and Frozen products. The stock led all the gainers in the S&P 500, climbing $12.26 to $94.89. Rival Mattel also got a lift, adding 23 cents to $26.06.

KEEPING SCORE: In Europe, Germany’s DAX was down 1.2 percent, while France’s CAC 40 was 1 percent lower. Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.2 percent. Earlier in Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.3 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.0 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost earlier gains and inched down 0.1 percent. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.2 percent. Benchmarks were also higher in Taiwan and Singapore.

OIL PRICES: Benchmark U.S. crude was down 63 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $53.20 a barrel in New York. It added 29 cents to $53.83 a barrel Friday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, was down 87 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $55.94 a barrel in London.

TREASURY YIELDS: Bond prices rose. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 2.42 percent from 2.47 percent late Friday.

CURRENCIES: The euro fell to $1.0734 from $1.0765 on Friday. The dollar slipped to 112.05 yen from 112.96 yen.

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