US stocks fall ahead of Bernanke testimony

US stocks Tuesday, July 16, 2013, snapped a three-day streak of records as investors looked ahead to testimony on the economy in Congress from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. AP PHOTO/MARK LENNIHAN

NEW YORK CITY—US stocks Tuesday snapped a three-day streak of records as investors looked ahead to testimony on the economy in Congress from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 32.41 (0.21 percent) to 15,451.85

The broad-based S&P 500 gave up 6.24 (0.37 percent) to 1,676.26. Both the Dow and the S&P 500 had posted three straight days of record highs before Tuesday.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 8.99 (0.25 percent) to 3,598.50.

Tuesday’s losses came after a series of mixed earnings results and economic indicators.

Consumer prices rose more than expected in June, but the difference was mainly due to higher gasoline prices. US industrial production also picked up in June, but analysts rated the results lackluster compared with historic trends for this time of year.

Brent Schutte, market strategist at BMO Private Bank in Chicago, said many investors were reticent to trade given Bernanke’s impending testimony to Congress Wednesday.

“I don’t think you can discern too much out of market activity today just because I don’t believe too many people are getting in front of what Bernanke has to say tomorrow,” Schutte said.

Earnings results were mixed. Dow member Coca-Cola said US sales were hurt by rainy and cooler spring weather, driving its profits down 4 percent. Coke shares sank 1.9 percent.

Health goods and drug maker Johnson & Johnson, another Dow component, reported that net income more than doubled to $3.83 billion and boosted its outlook for the rest of the year. Shares closed flat.

Goldman Sachs also reported profits that more than doubled last year’s level. However shares gave up 1.7 percent due to concerns about the quality of the earnings gain, which was partly due to a lower-than-expected tax rate.

Boeing gave up 1.4 percent after British safety investigators focused a probe into last week’s Dreamliner fire on a transmitter made by industrial US company Honeywell. Honeywell dropped 0.3 percent.

Electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors plummeted 14.3 percent to $109.05 following a negative report by Goldman Sachs. A Goldman analysis of likely sales and earnings projected the stock would trade at $84, according to cnbc.com.

Bond prices were higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond fell to 2.53 percent from 2.56 percent late Monday, while the 30-year yield was at 3.58 percent, down from 3.61 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.