For some time now, the United States stock market has been propelled forward by a domestic economy that has been growing swiftly compared with Europe, Japan and many once-buoyant emerging markets.
Yet while the American consumer may be cashing in on lower oil prices, rock-bottom interest rates and — for those planning trips to Paris and Rome — a strong dollar, a growing number of big American multinational companies have begun to suffer from these very same trends.
On Tuesday, Procter & Gamble and Caterpillar, which export many of their products overseas, blamed a weak global economy and a too-strong dollar for their disappointing earnings. A day earlier, Microsoft had also cited a robust dollar for its slack results. The dollar index, which measures the value of the dollar against six other major currencies, is up 17.7 percent since June 30.
Stocks fell sharply across the board on Tuesday, although the major market measures recovered some lost ground by the end of the day. The benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index closed down 1.3 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 1.7 percent, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index ended down 1.9 percent.
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A version of this article appears in print on 01/28/2015, on page B1 of the NewYork edition with the headline: U.S. Vigor Is Becoming a Weakness for Industry.
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