Stock Market Today: Dow Falls Ahead of Earnings Rain

DOW stocks fell on Monday as investors turned their attention to the start of the earnings season and June inflation data.

At 16:00, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 162 points, or 0.5%, while the S&P 500 was down 1.1% and the NASDAQ Composite 2.3%. Despite the strong jobs market, investors are still worried about a recession and await company executives' views on costs, supply chains and business conditions over the next few months. On Wednesday, investors will see the release of the consumer price index for June. Analysts expect an increase of 1.1% on a monthly basis and 8.8% on a 12-month basis. Also on Monday, the possibility of a Covid-related shutdown in China also weighed on stocks. Many cities, including gaming hub Macau, are imposing new restrictions. This puts pressure on casino stocks such as Las Vegas Sands Corp (NYSE:LVS), down 6%, and Wynn Resorts Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN), down 6.4%. Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) shares fell 11% on Monday as the social media company prepares to sue Elon Musk over his attempt to back out of a $44 billion privatization offer. Musk, CEO of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), said he could not verify the number of fake accounts on the platform. Twitter points to an offer of $ 54.20 per share. Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) shares fell 4.7% after Needham downgraded the stock to sell from neutral. Investors are trying to push stocks back up after a sharp sell-off in the first half of the year. Earnings season, which starts this week, could help tip the balance. According to Reuters, there could be another drop in the near future if company reports fail to meet expectations. Big banks start Thursday with reports from JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS). Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) and Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) will follow a day later. Investors are hoping to hear the views of the largest lenders on how well corporate borrowers are coping with inflation and interest rate hikes.