Stocks sag in midday trading; Monsanto struggles

Utility company stocks are tumbling as bond prices continue to fall, making the dividend-rich sector less appealing to investors.

Agribusiness giant Monsanto fell after cutting its annual profit forecast because of the strong dollar, competition from lower-cost generic products and lower commodity prices.

The company makes 60 percent of its sales overseas, and it's being affected by the strong dollar, cutbacks in travel, and weak economies in some emerging markets.

The strength of the dollar hurts U.S. companies in a variety of ways when they do business overseas: it makes their products more expensive compared to locally-produced goods, and it reduces their revenue when it's translated back into dollars.

Katie Nixon, chief investment officer of wealth management Northern Trust, said that matters because economic growth is so slow right now.

Sporting goods retailer Big 5 Sporting Goods fell $1.46, or 11 percent, to $11.83 as it offered a weak profit forecast, and competing retailer Sports Authority said it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

ADP, a payroll processing company, said private U.S. businesses added a healthy 214,000 jobs last month.

The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares dipped 0.1 percent after asset manager BlackRock warned that if the U.K. votes to leave European Union, the economy will be "economically worse off."

A weak yen added to investor optimism, sending Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 up 4.1 percent.