Stocks – Dow Downed by Walgreens, Slump in Energy

Investing.com – The Dow closed lower Tuesday, struggling to shake off a slump in Walgreen Boots Alliance and weakness in energy stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.30%, the S&P 500 closed flat, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.25%.

Wall Street was unable to replicate its swashbuckling gains from a day earlier as Walgreens’ (NASDAQ:WBA) earnings miss and dour guidance served as a reminder that corporate profit growth may face headwinds in the quarters to coming.

Analysts are projecting a 3.9% earnings decline for S&P 500 companies in the first quarter, the first year-on-year decline since the second quarter of 2016, according to FactSet.

Falling energy stocks also kept traders on the sidelines, even as oil prices continued to add to gains amid expectations petroleum data due Wednesday will show a draw in U.S. crude supplies.

But airline stocks offered investors some reprieve amid a surge in Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) of about 6% after the carrier lifted its earnings guidance for the first quarter amid “healthy” demand.

United Continental (NASDAQ:UAL) was up 2.4% and American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) gained 2%.

The communications services sector, which houses the bulk of the FANG stocks, also supported the broader market thanks to rally in shares of Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) amid an upbeat assessment from Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn).

“We think a more streamlined E-Commerce experience on Instagram could add an incremental $10 (billion) of revenue in 2021, and we see ‘Checkout with Instagram’ as a key step towards unlocking this opportunity,” Deutsche Bank analyst Lloyd Walmsley wrote in a note to investors on Monday.