Investing.com -- Stocks were mixed on U.S. equities markets on Tuesday, as a wave of subpar quarterly earnings outweighed a potential mega international pharmaceutical merger.
Weaker than expected earnings from The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV), EI du Pont de Nemours and Company (NYSE:DD) and International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) weighed on the Dow Jones Industrials which erased some of its gains from Monday, when it rose by more than 200 points. The S&P 500 Composite index also fell slightly, while the NASDAD Composite index closed higher with biotech and pharmaceutical stocks in focus.
The Dow fell 85.34 or 0.47% to slip below 18,000 at 17,949.59. For the month, the Dow is up less than 200 points.
The S&P 500, meanwhile, fell 3.11 or 0.15% to 2,097.29, as stocks in the Energy, Utilities and Basic Materials sectors lagged. While seven of the 10 sectors on the index fell during the session, the S&P 500 was led by stocks in the Health Care, Consumer Services and Consumer Good sectors, all of which closed in the green.
Bolstered by Teva Pharma Industries Ltd's (ARCA:TEVA) $40 billion offer for Mylan (NASDAQ:MYL) Pharmaceuticals, the NASDAQ rose 19.50 or 0.39% to 5,014.10.
Travelers, one of the nation's largest insurance companies, ended the session as the worst performer on the Dow. The Minnesota-based company posted a $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, down from $2.95 during the same period in 2014. Travelers also reported a dip in revenue of $6.63 billion for the first quarter, below first quarter revenues last year of $6.71 billion. Travelers, which raised quarterly dividends by 11% to 0.61 a share, fell 4.46 or 4.20% on Tuesday to 101.68.
A strong dollar, which has appreciated by approximately 9% since the start of the year, also weighed on DuPont's earnings. The Delaware-based Chemical company saw its sales decline by 9% for the quarter to $9.2 billion, 6% of which DuPont attributed to the dollar's appreciation. DuPont lost 2.26 or 3.10% to 70.58 on Tuesday, ending the session as the Dow's lowest performer besides Travelers.
The top performer on the Dow was Visa Inc (NYSE:V), which gained 0.66 or 1.02% to 65.38.
On the NASDAQ, Mylan gained more than 8% to close as the biggest gainer of the session. Shares in Mylan shot up after reports surfaced of Teva's hostile takeover attempt on Tuesday, following weeks of speculation. Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that Teva bid $82 a share to acquire the Pennsylvania-based pharmaceutical company. Mylan closed up 6.03 or 8.85% to 74.07.
The worst performer on the NASDAQ was Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC), which fell 1.90 or 1.87% to 99.68.
The top performer on the S&P 500 was Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:ATI), after its first quarter sales rose by 7% to $1.13 billion, boosted by improvements in the aerospace market. Shares in Allegheny Technologies, a specialty materials maker, gained 4.35 or 14.36% to 34.65.
The worst performer was Harley-Davidson Inc (NYSE:HOG), after the motorcycle manufacturer posted disappointing quarterly earnings. Harley, which dropped 6.07 or 9.83% to 55.70, may have struggled to compete with its top foreign competitors such as Honda, Yamaha and BMW, due to the weaker yen and euro.
A plethora of prominent companies such as Yahoo! Inc (NASDAQ:YHOO), Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (NYSE:CMG), Yum! Brands Inc (NYSE:YUM) and Amgen Inc (NASDAQ:AMGN) were set to release earnings statements after the bell.