New York, Jan 29 (IANS): US stocks closed lower as investors digested weak earnings of some big public companies.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 208.98 points, or 0.84 percent, to 24,528.22 on Monday. The S&P 500 fell 20.91 points, or 0.78 percent, to 2,643.85. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 79.18 points, or 1.11 percent, to 7,085.69, Xinhua news agency reported.

Caterpillar shares fell more than 9 percent after the industrial giant posted weaker-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter.

The construction machinery company reported quarterly revenue of 14.3 billion US dollars, and earnings per share of 1.78 dollars.

It also provided a weak earnings outlook for 2019 as the company expects full-year earnings per share to reach a range of 11.75 dollars to 12.75 dollars.

Caterpillar is considered a bellwether for global trade given the company's exposure to overseas markets.

Meanwhile, Nvidia shares sank nearly 14 percent after the chipmaker cut its revenue guidance for the fourth quarter from 2.7 billion dollars to 2.2 billion dollars.

The company attributed weaker guidance to deteriorating macroeconomic conditions.