US stocks fell moderately today as investors took profits following two sessions of gains.
Disappointing earnings from Amazon.com Inc. and Boeing Co. helped pull the consumer discretionary and industrials sectors lower. And despite positive earnings news from General Motors Corp., transportation stocks were down sharply.
In months of choppy trading, investors have frequently met one day's advances with a selloff the next session to lock in profits. While investors are slightly anxious over earnings season, they are much more nervous about the Aug. 8 meeting of the Federal Reserve, which could bring the 18th straight increase in the fed funds rate, the nation's benchmark interest rate. The markets are hoping that the Fed will then put its rate hike program on hold.
Investors could get a better sense of how the Fed views the economy when the Beige Book, the Fed's report on regional economic conditions, is released later in the session.
In morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 45.94, or 0.41 percent, to 11,057.77 after rising a total of 230 points the first two days this week.
Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.81 percent. In afternoon trading, the FTSE 100 was up 0.15 percent, Germany's DAX index was up 0.05 percent, and France's CAC-40 was down 0.01 percent.
AP