While you were sleeping: Dow plunges as Goldman Sachs, J&J disappoint

Wall Street slid amid disappointing results including from Goldman Sachs and Johnson & Johnson.

At the close of trading in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 113.64 points, or 0.55%, to 20,523.28. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.1% to 5849.47 and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 0.3% to 2342.19.

Slides in shares of Goldman Sachs and those of Johnson & Johnson, down 4.7% and 3.6% respectively, led the decline in the Dow.

"Those tend to be companies who manage earnings a little better, the fact they have missed perhaps isn't a very good indication," Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Asset Management in New York, told Reuters.

"There is some nervousness out there about the economy, geopolitical issues and general unpredictability as well."

Goldman Sachs reported first-quarter earnings that fell short of the mark, a performance that puzzled analysts.

"I'm still confused," UBS analyst Brennan Hawken told Reuters, adding, "I have some company."

Trading profit down
While net income was ahead of last year, the profits from trading were off 2.4% and well behind those of its rivals. 

Shares of J&J dropped after the world's top healthcare company posted quarterly sales and a full-year outlook that fell short of expectations.

Cowen & Co analyst Joshua Jennings called the results an "underwhelming performance," in a note to investors, Bloomberg reported.

J&J, which said it still expects to close its $US30 billion acquisition of Actelion in the current quarter, also offered a 2017 full-year outlook that disappointed.

"The expected benefit from the Actelion acquisition this year came in lower than our estimates," Edward Jones analyst Ashtyn Evans told Reuters.

"Additionally, the company's total growth came in lower than we expected, which is disappointing."

Post shares drop
Shares of Post Holdings dropped after the US cereal maker agreed to buy the UK's Weetabix from China's Bright Food Group for £1.4 billion (US1.76 billion), the companies said.

Founded in 1932, Weetabix holds the number two overall position in the UK ready-to-eat cereal category. The company's portfolio includes the iconic namesake Weetabix brand, as well as Alpen, Barbara's, Weetos and Ready Brek.

"Combining together two category leaders continues our strategy of strengthening our portfolio in stable categories and diversifying into new markets, bringing much-loved brands to significantly more customers globally," Post chief executive Rob Vitale said in a statement.

"We are excited about the growth opportunities that this acquisition brings."

Shares of Post Holdings traded 4.6% weaker. The deal is expected to be completed in the third quarter of the 2017 calendar year.

In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index ended the day with a 1.1% decline from the previous close, after UK Prime Minister Theresa May unexpectedly called for a general election on June 8 in an effort to garner additional support for the nation's negotiations to exit the European Union.

Germany's DAX Index slid 0.9%, France's CAC40 Index fell 1.6% and the UK's FTSE 100 Index dropped 2.5%.

(BusinessDesk)