Industrials Down On Shutdown Fears -- Industrials Roundup

Shares of manufacturing and transportation fell as risks of a government shutdown increased.

Defense contractors and infrastructure builders are among the sub-sectors whose business in Washington, D.C. could be interrupted by the temporary closure of federal government agencies.

Analysts at brokerage Morgan Stanley said earnings for the broad Standard & Poor's 500 were likely to rise by more than 10% in 2018, with the best performers feeding into a "pro-cyclical bias." "However, we would also not expect any material near-term outperformance on the back of these results given our view that sentiment and positioning are currently extended and the pattern we have seen through much of 2017 where earnings beats were largely priced going into earnings season," said the Morgan Stanley analysts, in a note to clients.

Home-security company ADT's initial public offering is likely to price below its expected range of $17 to $19 a share on Thursday, as investors shy away, The Wall Street Journal reported.

--Rob Curran, rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 18, 2018 16:24 ET (21:24 GMT)