US stocks slide for second day as earnings reports loom; AbbVie falls after raising Shire bid

NEW YORK, N.Y. – U.S. stocks are moving lower for a second day in a row as investors position themselves for corporate earnings reports.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 137 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 16,886 at midday Tuesday. Boeing and Goldman Sachs fell the most in the index.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 15 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 1,962. The Nasdaq fell 72 points, or 1.6 per cent, to 4,378.

The Dow and the S&P 500 set record highs last week.

AbbVie fell $1.63, or 3 per cent, to $55.77 after the company raised its offer to buy rival drugmaker, Shire.

Major U.S. companies start reporting their earnings this week, beginning with aluminum maker Alcoa later Tuesday.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.57 per cent.