Stocks dropped Thursday as Wall Street reacted to a mixed bag of corporate earnings, including disappointing results from Tesla. Investors also assessed fresh data that signaled a contracting economy.
The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.8% to settle at 12,059.56. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 110.39 points, or 0.33%, to close at 33,786.62, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.6% to finish at 4,129.79.
All the major averages are on track for a week of losses, and the worst weekly performances for the Dow and the S&P 500 since March. The S&P is down about 0.2%, while the Nasdaq has lost roughly 0.5%. The Dow is down about 0.3% and on pace to snap a four-week win streak.
“Though, so far, it seems that equities have rallied, sentiment has been okay, and you’re seeing equity volatility continue to grind lower, the story from corporates is that margins are under pressure and we continue to see that decline,” said Anna Han, equity strategist at Wells Fargo Securities.
The mounting concern over downward pressure on profit margins hurt Tesla shares as the electric vehicle maker cut prices on some of its cars during the recent quarterly period. The company posted a more than 20% decline in net income from a year ago after the bell Wednesday. Shares fell nearly 10%.
Other technology stocks showed signs of weakness. Nvidia, Microsoft, Meta Platforms and Apple all finished lower. Seagate Technology shares lost more than 9% after missing estimates and issuing disappointing guidance, citing weak demand.
Energy marked another area of market weakness as oil prices declined more than 2%. Some laggards included APA, Marathon Oil and Phillips 66.
Disappointing results from both AT&T and American Express did little to alleviate some of the market concern. The payments company, offering another look at the health of the U.S. consumer, lost 1% as earnings per share fell short of estimates. AT&T fell 10.4% on slowing subscriber growth fears.
So far this earnings season, about 16% of companies in the…
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