U.S. stocks slump as traders worry about US earnings and a manufacturing slowdown in China

1/23/2014

Trader Robert Moran works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014. U.S. stocks are falling broadly in morning trading Thursday as investors weigh some disappointing earnings from U.S. companies and a survey from China suggesting the manufacturing sector of the world's second-largest economy is headed for a contraction. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — Stocks are broadly lower after earnings and forecasts from several U.S. companies disappointed investors.

Investors also worried about a slowdown in China, a major driver of global growth, after a survey there suggested the country’s manufacturing sector was contracting.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 176 points, or 1.1 percent, to close at 16,197 today. It had been down as much as 232 points.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 16 points, or 0.9 percent, to 1,828. The Nasdaq composite lost 24 points, or 0.6 percent, to 4,218.

Several companies fell after issuing quarterly results and outlooks, including Noble Corp., Johnson Controls, Jacobs Engineering and United Continental.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.78 percent.