By Liz Moyer
Investing.com -- U.S. stocks fell Monday as investors turned their attention to the start of earnings season and June inflation data ahead.
At 2:08 PM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 38 points, or 0.1%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.7% and the NASDAQ Composite fell 1.6%.
Despite the strong job market, investors are still worried about a recession and are awaiting word from corporate chiefs about costs, supply chains and their view on the next few months of business conditions. On Wednesday, investors will get the consumer price index print for June. Analysts expect a month-over-month rise of 1.1% and 12-month rise of 8.8%.
Also weighing on stocks on Monday was the prospect of shutdowns in China because of Covid. Several cities are imposing new restrictions, including the gaming center Macau. That is weighing on casino stocks such as Las Vegas Sands Corp (NYSE:LVS), down 7%, and Wynn Resorts Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN), down 7%.
Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) shares fell nearly 10% Monday as the social media company prepared to sue Elon Musk for his attempt to walk away from a $44 billion take-private offer. Musk, the CEO of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), says he can’t confirm the number of fake accounts on the platform. Twitter points to a $54.20 a share offer.
Shares of Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) fell 4% after Needham downgraded the stock to sell from neutral.
Investors have been trying to push stocks back up after the sharp selloff in the first half of the year. Earnings season starting this week could help tip the balance. Another downturn could be in the near future if company reports fail to live up to expectations, Reuters reported.
Big banks get things started on Thursday, with reports from JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS). Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) and Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) follow a day later. Investors are hoping to hear the biggest lenders' views on how well corporate borrowers are coping with inflation and interest rate increases.