Wall Street down on growth concerns, earnings uncertainty

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell on Monday as weak economic data in Asia raised concerns about a slowdown in global growth and as investors were hesitant to make big bets ahead of the upcoming earnings season in the United States.

Machinery orders in Japan fell at a record pace of 14.8 percent in May, far worse than the 3.3 percent forecast, while inflation in China eased to a 29-month low of 2.2 percent in June.

'While tame inflation provides greater opportunities for central banks to fight the slowing economy, many investors are coming round to the conclusion that too much of the powder has already been used and is damaging hopes for a rebound,' said Andrew Wilkinson, chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak & Co in New York.

The data comes on the heels of Friday's disappointing U.S. jobs report, which showed non-farm payrolls grew by only 80,000 in June.

Further raising concerns, Spanish bond yields rose past the 7-percent level viewed as unsustainable by many analysts ahead of a meeting by euro zone finance ministers later in the day. Diplomats said the country will be granted an extra year to reach its deficit targets after it outlines further budget savings.

Alcoa Inc will kick off earnings season after the closing bell, when the aluminum giant expected to post a 5-cent per share profit for the second quarter. Shares slipped 1.8 percent to $8.57.

Investors will closely monitor corporate earnings for signs the euro zone debt crisis has dented profits, especially among multinational companies.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 60.85 points, or 0.48 percent, at 12,711.62. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 4.80 points, or 0.35 percent, at 1,349.88. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 8.49 points, or 0.29 percent, at 2,928.84.

UBS Investment Research downgraded payment processors Visa Inc and MasterCard Inc to 'sell' from 'neutral,' citing slower consumer spending in the United States and sluggish global economic growth. Visa shares were down 2.4 percent at $122.23 and MasterCard shares lost 3.5 percent to $426.19.

Amerigroup Corp jumped 38 percent to $88.82 after the company agreed to be acquired by rival WellPoint Inc for about $4.46 billon. WellPoint shares advanced 3 percent to $61.72, and health insurer Wellcare Health Plans Inc surged 18 percent to $62.32. The Morgan Stanley healthcare payor index <.HMO> climbed 9.3 percent.

Boeing Co gained 0.7 percent to $74.22 as the top boost to the Dow after the company said it made final an airplane order with Air Lease Corp valued at $7.2 billion.

(Reporting By Angela Moon; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)



This news article is brought to you by FASHION - where latest news are our top priority.