Wall St. moves lower as global growth worries resurface

By Abhiram Nandakumar

(Reuters) - The S&P and the Nasdaq fell on Tuesday morning as worries about economic growth resurfaced at U.S. companies begin to report quarterly results, while a surge in DuPont helped the Dow move higher.

DuPont rose 11.1 percent to $56.96 after CEO Ellen Kullman said she would step down. The stock gave the biggest boost to the S&P and the Dow, where it added nearly 38 points.

The International Monetary Fund cut its global growth forecasts for a second time this year, citing weak commodity prices and a slowdown in China.

The market had gained for two days after a weak U.S. jobs report of Friday lowered the chances of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates this year, meaning the era of near-zero interest rates would continue.

But the report showed job growth slowed in the last three months, adding to investors worries about a slowdown in global growth and its effect on economic policy and corporate results.

The U.S. trade deficit widened the most in five months in August, data showed on Tuesday, illustrating the economy's vulnerabilities to a strong dollar and weak demand abroad.

S&P 500 companies are expected to report a 4.2 percent fall in earnings in the third quarter, the biggest decline in six years, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Investors are going to keep a keen eye on U.S. earnings reports over the next several weeks for evidence of strong second-quarter performance trickling down to the third, said Tim Dreiling, a senior portfolio manager at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.

At 11:34 a.m. ET (1534 GMT), the Dow Jones industrial average was up 30.5 points, or 0.18 percent, at 16,806.93 and the Nasdaq composite was down 45.21 points, or 0.95 percent, at 4,736.05.

The S&P 500 was down 6.11 points, or 0.31 percent, at 1,980.94. The index had gained 5.6 percent over the past five days, its best 5-day run since 2011.

Six of the ten major S&P sectors were lower, with the health sector's 2.8 percent loss leading the decliners. The sector had posted gains for five days in a row.

The Nasdaq biotech index was down 5.8 percent, falling for the second straight day. Celgene's 5.4 percent fall weighed the most on the Nasdaq.

The energy index was the top gainer, up 2.56 percent, after crude oil prices jumped. [O/R]

Pepsi rose 1.7 percent to $97.44 after it reported better-than-expected third-quarter results and raised its forecast for the year.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,794 to 1,111. On the Nasdaq, 1,407 issues fell and 1,200 advanced.

The S&P 500 index showed six new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 30 new highs and 22 new lows.

(Reporting by Abhiram Nandakumar and Tanya Agrawal in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)