​Stocks fall in global slump as energy companies skid

NEW YORK -U.S. stocks are skidding Monday as energy stocks take big losses. Companies including Xerox and drugmaker Perrigo are down after reporting disappointing earnings and lowering their expectations for the year. Global stocks also fell.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 64 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,939 as of 1:45 p.m. ET. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost eight points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,084. The Nasdaq composite index slid 18 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4,888.

Xerox cut its profit estimate for the year after its first-quarter profit dropped 85 percent. The company's costs went up as it gets ready to split into two businesses, and its revenue fell. The stock shed $1.45, or 13 percent, to $9.72.

Irish drugmaker Perrigo is tumbling after cutting its profit forecast. The company said prices for over-the-counter products in Europe are down, and it may take an impairment charge for a business it bought just a year ago.

Perrigo's CEO also left the company to join Valeant Pharmaceuticals. The stock lost $18.71, or 15.4 percent, to $102.64.

Corporate earnings statements pick up a head of steam this week. Around a third of the S&P 500 are due to report their results. Those companies include Apple, Procter & Gamble, Amazon, Boeing and Exxon.

Gannett, the owner of USA Today and other papers, offered to buy Tribune Publishing for $388 million. Tribune owns 11 newspapers including the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune. It said Tribune has refused to start constructive talks.

The offer values Tribune Publishing at $12.25 per share, and its stock surged $4.19, or 55.7 percent, to $11.70. Gannett stock rose 66 cents, or 4.2 percent, to $16.43.

Banks and industrial and materials companies all fell. Citigroup shed 60 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $46.37 and insurer Prudential lost $1.36, or 1.7 percent, to $78.22. Railroad company Union Pacific gave up $2.32, or 2.6 percent, to $87.30 and mining and construction equipment maker Caterpillar declined $1.72, or 2.2 percent, to $76.60. Packaging companies fell, with WestRock off $1.08, or 2.7 percent, to $39.66 and International Paper down 83 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $42.53. Aluminum company Alcoa retreated 22 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $10.16.

Laboratory Corp. of America rose $2.11, or 1.7 percent, to $123.88. The medical laboratory operator's profit and revenue were stronger than analysts expected.

First Data Corp. gained 29 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $13.29. The electronic commerce and payment services provider reported a larger profit than analysts expected.

For the third month in a row, sales of new homes decreased in March. The Commerce Department said overall sales fell 1.5 percent as sales in the West dropped more than 20 percent. Homebuilder stocks were broadly lower. PulteGroup sank 44 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $18.61 and KB Home dropped 29 cents, or 2 percent, to $14.11.

Central bank policy meetings in Japan and the U.S. are the focus of investors' attention this week. The Federal Reserve will meet Tuesday and Wednesday. Investors don't expect it to raise interest rates, but the Fed's comments about the U.S. and global economy will be closely watched.

Traders will look to see whether the Japanese central bank enacts a further stimulus.

The government of Saudi Arabia said a small portion of the world's largest oil company will go public. The kingdom valued Saudi Aramco at more than $2 trillion. It's long been considered the most valuable company in the world. Apple, the most valuable publicly traded company, has a market capitalization of about $585 billion.

The planned IPO is part of a series of economic reforms that are intended to make the Saudi economy less reliant on oil. Oil was the source of almost three-quarters of the country's total revenue last year.

Benchmark U.S. crude inched down 74 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $42.99 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost 39 cents to $44.72 a barrel in London.

The price of gold and silver each rose about 1 percent, with gold trading at $1,241.60 an ounce and silver at $17.03 an ounce.

Germany's DAX fell 0.8 percent and France's CAC 40 slipped 0.5 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 lost 0.8 percent. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 dipped 0.8 percent. In South Korea the Kospi inched down 0.1 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.8 percent.

Bond prices fell slightly. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose to 1.90 percent from 1.89 percent. The euro rose to $1.1267 from $1.1245. The dollar fell to 111.11 yen from 111.67 yen.