Stocks decline as Apple slumps, European ministers meet

Stocks were little changed on Monday as many traders were absent as a result of Columbus Day and a lack of economic news.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average snapped a four-session winning streak and fell 26.50 points to 13,583.65. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 23.81 points to 3,112.35, and the S&P 500 Stock Index dropped 5.05 points to 1,455.88.

The mood could change this week as U.S. companies begin releasing their economic data for the past quarter. The parade of earnings reports begins on Tuesday after the close of trading with the traditional release from Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA).

A forecast from the International Monetary Fund anticipating a slowdown in Asian economies sent commodity prices lower. Oil traded as low as $88.21 a barrel before closing at $89.33, down 55 cents. Gold was down $5.10 to $1,775.70 an ounce.

Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB), operator of the biggest social networking company, slid 2.4 percent after being downgraded at BTIG LLC. Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX), the world’s largest video-subscription service, advanced 10 percent after Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) raised the shares.

“We’re back to dealing with the issues in Europe,” said Bruce McCain, chief investment strategist at the private-banking unit of KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) in Cleveland. His firm oversees $20 billion. “We’re going back to a period where investors become less enthusiastic as they realize the problems of the world have not gone away.”

European finance ministers met in Luxembourg on Monday to discuss Spain’s overhaul effort and closer banking cooperation, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit Greece on Tuesday for the first time since the crisis erupted. The World Bank said policymakers in Asia’s emerging economies have room to provide more fiscal stimulus as China’s slowdown drags the region’s growth to an estimated 11-year low in 2012.

Early earnings reports from companies in the S&P 500 are signaling an “ugly” quarter, according to Wells Fargo & Co.’s (NYSE: WFC) Gina Martin Adams. Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON), the world’s largest seed company, and Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE), the biggest sporting-goods provider, are among the constituents of the U.S. equity benchmark that have reported declining income, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Analysts project third-quarter earnings will slip 1.7 percent in the first retreat since 2009, the data show.

“While recession in the U.S. is not necessarily imminent, earnings are weakening fairly quickly,” wrote Adams, a Wells Fargo strategist, in a note Monday. “Formerly strong export and investment sensitive sectors are suffering from economic and policy uncertainty, pressuring index earnings to the brink.”

Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) retreated 2.2 percent to $638.17, dropping 5 percent in three days. The shares have risen 58 percent so far this year, outpacing the 16 percent jump in the S&P 500.

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) retreated 1.2 percent to $52.33. Caris & Co. equity analyst David Miller downgraded the world’s largest entertainment company to "average" from "above average." The share-price estimate is $55.

Progress Software Corp. (Nasdaq: PRGS) plunged 14 percent to $18.52 after it said Chief Executive Officer Jay Bhatt will step down. It withdrew its fourth-quarter revenue forecast, citing concern that sales may slip during the transition.

Green Dot Corp. (NYSE: GDOT) sank 20 percent to $10.25. The prepaid-card firm that derives most of its revenue from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) fell after the world’s biggest retailer said it would expand sales of a competing product from American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP).

Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV) climbed 7.5 percent to $22.81. The company, which ousted its chief executive officer after a failed engine strategy, agreed to add Mark Rachesky, an associate of investor Carl Icahn, and a third to-be-named person to its board, averting Icahn’s threat of a proxy fight.