Energy, banks stocks lead US stocks sharply lower

NEW YORK — US stocks are falling yesterday morning, following global stock indexes lower, as energy companies and banks take sharp losses. Airlines skidded after President Donald Trump ordered impose a travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries, which lead to protests and disruption at airports. Basic materials and technology companies also fell, and energy companies declined with oil prices.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average fell 201 points, or 1 percent, to 19,892 as of 11:02 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 24 points, or 1.1 percent, to 2,269. The Nasdaq composite dropped 77 points, or 1.4 percent, to 5,583 after closing at an all-time high Friday. Small-company stocks were hit even harder. The Russell 2000 index plunged 26 points, or 2 percent, to 1,343. That index is on track for its biggest one-day loss since early September.

TRUMP TRAVEL TROUBLE: Late Friday Trump signed an executive order that suspended the US refugee program for 120 days and blocked travel to the US by citizens of seven countries. The move, which is being challenged in court, triggered protests and confusion at US airports, and airline stocks traded lower. American Airlines fell $3, or 6.4 percent, to $43.95. United Continental lost $4.28, or 5.8 percent, to $70.14 and Delta gave up $1.85, or 3.7 percent, to $47.85.

TECH TURMOIL: The travel ban also created broader uncertainty for companies and industries that rely on visa programs to hire workers, as well as some companies that do a lot of business overseas because of potential difficulties in global trade. IT consulting and outsourcing firm Cognizant Technology Solutions sank $2.24, or 4 percent, to $53.89 and Alphabet, Google's parent company, skidded $19.79, or 2.3 percent, to $825.24. Chip equipment maker Lam Research was off $3.25, or 2.7 percent, to $114.99.

GET THE IODINE: Rite Aid plunged after Walgreens said it will cut the price it's paying to buy its rival to no more than $7 per share from $9. That came after the companies said they will sell more of Rite Aid's stores to get antitrust regulators to approve the deal. Walgreens said it may have to sell up to 1,200 Rite Aid stores, about a quarter of the company's total. Rite Aid sank $1.15, or 16.6 percent, to $5.78. Walgreens edged up 15 cents to $81.65.

TOSSING AND TURNING: Mattress retailer Tempur Sealy said Mattress Firm is moving to terminate its supply contracts with the company. Tempur Sealy said Mattress Firm wanted to make big changes to supply agreements and the two sides weren't able to reach an agreement. It expects the two companies to stop doing business during the first quarter. Tempur Sealy said it made 21 percent of its net sales last year to Mattress Firm. Its stock fell $17.76, or 28.1 percent, to $45.43.

OFF THE PACE: Fitness tracker maker Fitbit dropped 88 cents, or 12.2 percent, to $6.33 after the company posted weak fourth-quarter sales and said it will eliminate about six percent of its jobs, or about 110 positions.

ENERGY: Benchmark US crude lost 72 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $52.43 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price international oils, gave up 63 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $55.07 a barrel in London. Chevron retreated $2.36, or 2.1 percent, to $111.43 and ConocoPhillips fell $2.07, or 4.2 percent, to $47.36.

KEY FITS: Electronic measurement technology company Keysight Technologies said it will buy network hardware company Ixia for $19.65 per share, or $1.6 billion. Ixia shares jumped $1.23, or 6.7 percent, to $19.43 while Keysight slid 48 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $36.53.

BONDS: Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note slipped to 2.47 percent 2.48 percent.

CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 113.80 yen from 115.09 yen. The euro dipped to $1.0691 from $1.0698.

OVERSEAS: The DAX of Germany fell 1.1 percent and the French CAC-40 also shed 1.1 percent while Britain's FTSE 100 was 0.9 percent lower. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.5 percent.