Stocks Down on Mixed Earnings Reports
Stocks snapped this week's rally, as a mixed batch of earnings reports led some traders to take profits after two weeks of gains in the Dow Jones industrials.
Investors pulled back after Yahoo Inc. posted a surprising 11 percent drop in its first-quarter profit. Also making investors shudder were disappointing results from International Business Machines Corp. and Motorola Inc.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. gave some support to the Dow after the bank reported a 55 percent jump in profits that far surpassed Wall Street's expectations. The 30 companies that make up the index -- nearly half of which report earnings this week -- have been mostly beating the Street's predictions.
Wall Street was rattled by a sharp drop in the dollar, which is now at 26-year lows against the British pound. The U.S. currency has been weakening because interest rates have remained steady since the summer, and because the U.S. economy is slowing. In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 18.94, or 0.15 percent, to 12,754.10. The Dow has advanced in 12 of the past 13 sessions.
Broader stock indicators also fell. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 2.13, or 0.14 percent, at 1,469.35, and the Nasdaq composite index shed 11.72, or 0.47 percent, to 2,505.23.
Investors pulled back after Yahoo Inc. posted a surprising 11 percent drop in its first-quarter profit. Also making investors shudder were disappointing results from International Business Machines Corp. and Motorola Inc.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. gave some support to the Dow after the bank reported a 55 percent jump in profits that far surpassed Wall Street's expectations. The 30 companies that make up the index -- nearly half of which report earnings this week -- have been mostly beating the Street's predictions.
Wall Street was rattled by a sharp drop in the dollar, which is now at 26-year lows against the British pound. The U.S. currency has been weakening because interest rates have remained steady since the summer, and because the U.S. economy is slowing. In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 18.94, or 0.15 percent, to 12,754.10. The Dow has advanced in 12 of the past 13 sessions.
Broader stock indicators also fell. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 2.13, or 0.14 percent, at 1,469.35, and the Nasdaq composite index shed 11.72, or 0.47 percent, to 2,505.23.
posted by Stock Administrator @ 10:37 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home