US stocks finished lower on Monday as as lingering worries about a slowdown in growth more than offset gains in energy shares.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 25.05 points, or 0.20%, to finish at 12,356.21. The S&P 500 shed 1.09 points, or 0.08%, to close at 1,316.28. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 12.74 points, or 0.46%, to 2,746.16.
The Commerce Bureau reported Tuesday reported Tuesday that new home sales rose 7.3% to an annual rate of 323,000 units in April. Economists were looking for an annual rate of 300,000 sales for April.
Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) said Tuesday that its fourth-quarter profit declined to $776 million, or 72 cents a share, from $954 million, or 86 cents a share, in the prior-year quarter. Revenue climbed to $4.30 billion, from $4.20 billion a year ago. Analysts, on average, expected the company to report earnings of 93 cents per share on revenue of $4.29 billion. Shares of the company lost 38 cents, or 0.92%, to close at $40.088.
El Paso Corporation (NSE: EP) jumped more than 6% after the company announced that its Board of Directors has granted initial approval of a plan to separate the company into two publicly traded businesses by year end 2011. The company also raised its full-year adjusted earnings outlook to $1 to $1.10 a share. It previously expected to earn 90 cents to $1.05 a share. El Paso also boosted its guidance because its results to date have exceeded expectations. Shares of the company soared $1.24, or 6.53%, to close at $20.22.
Shares of Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) soared 27 cents, or 4.85%, to close at $5.84.
European stocks closed down. The UK FTSE rose 22.52 points, or 0.39% to 5,858.41. The German DAX and French CAC increased 0.41% and 0.25% respectively.
Asian stocks finished lower. The Nikkei 225 fell 146.45 points, or 1.52%, to 9,460.63. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong added 19.76 points, or 2.11%, to 22,711.02.
Full Disclosure: None.
