Tech, energy sectors fuel Wall Street retreat

ExxonMobil, Chevron shares plunge; Amazon down more than 6%

The optimism that fueled stocks to their best month in decades all but vanished Friday as Wall Street’s leading companies expressed futility at predicting future performance under the coronavirus economy.

Technology giants Amazon and Apple Inc., issued quarterly results after markets closed Thursday — the last day of April — that put the pandemic’s toll on business in stark relief. Apple declined to announce guidance for the coming quarter, citing uncertainty caused by the global outbreak. Apple shares were down about 1% Friday afternoon.

Amazon told investors it would spend all of its $4 billion secondquarter profits to recover from the pandemic. “If you’re a shareowner in Amazon, you may want to take a seat,” the company wrote in its earnings release. Shares plunged more than 6% Friday.

ExxonMobil and Chevron shares dropped after the energy giants reported earnings Friday that map a very difficult road ahead thanks to a collapse in oil prices. Exxon reported its first quarterly loss in years. Chevron reported a first-quarter profit of $3.6 billion. Both companies have significantly curtailed investment and cut back on oil production in expectation of difficult months ahead.

The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled more than 622 points, about 2.6%, to 23,723.69. All but one of the Dow’s 30 components were in the red, led down by ExxonMobil, Dow Inc., and Raytheon Technologies. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped 82 points, or 2.8%, to 2,830.71. Energy was the biggest loser as all 11 S&P stock sectors were in the red. The tech-rich Nasdaq composite fell 285 points, or 3.2%, to 8604.95.