US stocks fall as LVMH and ASML earnings fuel global slowdown fears

U.S. stocks fell Tuesday as investors digested a series of quarterly corporate earnings, with the banking sector in the spotlight. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 325 points, or 0.75%, while the S&P 500 index dropped 42 points, or 0.7%, lower and the NASDAQ Composite fell 181 points, or 1%.  Bank earnings in spotlight 

Investor focus was squarely on the third-quarter earnings season, which has picked up in earnest on Tuesday. 

The banking sector has been in the spotlight, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS ) topping third-quarter expectations, with Global Banking & Markets a key driver of the strong performance, generating quarterly net revenues of $8.55 billion. Shares closed 0.07% lower on the day.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC ) stock rose 0.6% after the second-largest US lender posted net profit per share that topped expectations despite slipping compared to the prior year, as higher investment banking fees helped it offset a slight year-on-year decline in net interest income.

Elsewhere, Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA ) stock soared 15.8% after the pharmacy chain operator said it would shut 1,200 stores over the next three years as part of a reorganization, as well as narrowly beating Wall Street's lowered estimates for fourth-quarter adjusted profit.

Boeing (NYSE:BA ) stock rose 2.3% in volatile trading after the aerospace giant entered a credit agreement worth $10 billion with a consortium of banks, but also filed a registration statement with the U.S. markets regulator that will allow it to raise up to $25 billion through an offering of various debt securities and classes of stock.

Elsewhere, semiconductor firm ASML (AS:ASML )'s disappointing results have weighed on stocks, with the company's disappointing Q3 bookings and full-year guidance pushing its shares significantly lower, currently down over 16%. Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA ) and AMD (NASDAQ:AMD ) also declined following the ASML release. Crude slumps on demand fears 

Oil prices fell sharply Tuesday, adding to recent losses on growing concerns over a slowdown in demand growth, particularly from top exporter China.

By 16:20 ET, the Brent contract dropped 3.7% to $74.58 per barrel, while U.S. crude futures (WTI) traded 4% lower at $70.91 a barrel.

Both benchmarks had settled about 2% lower on Monday and have continued to retreat after China logged a fifth straight monthly decline in oil imports, spurring fears of weak demand.

These fears were exacerbated by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries cutting its oil demand outlook for a third consecutive month.

Oil prices were also dented by traders pricing out a risk premium after a report on Monday said Israel will not attack Iran’s oil and nuclear facilities. Such a strike would have marked a major escalation in the conflict and had investors concerned about a disruption to supply from this oil-rich region.   (Ambar Warrick, Peter Nurse and Sam Boughedda contributed to this article.)

Source: Investing.com