NEW YORK, April 30 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks traded lower on Tuesday as the market was dragged by a steep sell-off in Google-parent Alphabet shares.
At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 24.32 points, or 0.09 percent, to 26,530.07. The S&P 500 was down 7.15 points, or 0.24 percent, to 2,935.88. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 76.85 points, or 0.94 percent, to 8,085.00.
Shares of Alphabet plunged about 8 percent in midday trading. The company reported quarterly results after Monday's close, with revenue of 36.34 billion U.S. dollars in the first quarter, missing the market expectations of 37.33 billion dollars. The weaker revenue was mainly driven by the decelerating ad sales growth at Google, according to the company.
Apple stock fell 1.9 percent around midday, among the worst performers in the Dow. The iPhone maker is scheduled to report quarterly earnings after Tuesday's close.
General Electric and McDonald's were among the companies that reported stronger-than-estimated quarterly results Tuesday, sending the stocks up 3.4 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively, around midday.
Of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors, communication services decreased 2.5 percent, the worst-performing group.
Wall Street is also paying close attention to the U.S. central bank's monetary policy meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday. Investors bet high on unchanged interest rates and wait for more clues on the Fed's economic outlook. Enditem
