Stocks fall in advance of key earnings reports

Most U.S. equities fell, with financial and commodity shares pacing losses as an overnight rally in Asian equities failed to hold ahead of a spate of key earnings reports this week. The dollar rose to the highest level in two months.

Almost three stocks fell for every two that rose in the S&P 500 Index, with banks tumbling the most. Energy producers slumped more than 1 percent as crude traded at a five-week low. The FANG cohort lifted tech-heavy Nasdaq indexes ahead of a spate of megacap earnings later this week. Earlier, the Shanghai Composite Index surged the most since March 2016 in the wake of verbal interventions from authorities.

“This week’s earnings announcements are the bulk of them, so it will be crucial to see what happens, especially to industrials to see whether there’s been any sort of disruption of their business due to the trade disputes,” said John Vail, chief global strategist at Nikko Asset Management.

Risks still abound across global markets, from the continuing U.S.-China trade showdown and tension surrounding the killing of a Saudi journalist to Italian budget fears and President Donald Trump’s unpredictable actions ahead of American midterm elections. Still, equities were attempting to bounce back after a miserable few weeks, and company results from the likes of Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and Intel as well as U.S. growth data may provide a welcome stimulus in the coming days.