Markets fall on media, retail losses

JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup start third-quarter reports, while J. Jill plunges.

U.S. stock indexes retreated from their record highs Thursday as retailers and media companies declined and investors shrugged at quarterly reports from a few big banks.

Clothing companies and other retailers fell after women’s clothing company J. Jill slashed its third-quarter forecast. The company’s stock lost more than half its value.

AT&T had its worst one-day loss since 2008 after it said it lost more satellite and cable TV subscribers in the third quarter. Other cable and satellite TV companies also stumbled. Industrial companies and household goods makers finished higher.

JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup did better than analysts expected in the third quarter, but their stocks fell and so did shares of other banks. They’ve made big gains over the last month.

CFRA Investment Strategist Lindsey Bell said the companies reported good results from their consumer banking businesses, but other divisions didn’t do as well.

“The bar was set kind of high,” she said. “Given the run that these stocks have had into these earnings reports, they’re going to need to see these other businesses pick up steam.”

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 4.31 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,550.93. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 31.88 points, or 0.1 percent, to 22,841.01. The Nasdaq composite dipped 12.04 points, or 0.2 percent, to 6,591.51. Those three indexes closed at record highs Wednesday. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks slumped 1.76 points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,505.16.

AT&T said it lost about 90,000 DirecTV video subscribers in the U.S. in the third quarter. AT&T stock fell $2.33, or 6.1 percent, to $35.86.

Verizon Communications shed 51 cents, or 1 percent, to $48.35 and cable provider Comcast fell $1.47, or 3.8 percent, to $35.95. Dish Network slid $2.62, or 5.1 percent, to $49.03. Cable channel operator Discovery Communications lost 72 cents, or 3.6 percent, to $19.28.

Citigroup said its investment banking business did well in the latest quarter, while JPMorgan Chase said its consumer banking business improved compared to a year ago. But Citigroup fell $2.57, or 3.4 percent, to $72.37 and JPMorgan gave up 85 cents to $95.99.

J. Jill stock opened at $13 a share after its March IPO and on Thursday it plunged $5.07, or 51.1 percent, to $4.86. Retailer Express sank 53 cents, or 8.3 percent, to $5.88 and Chico’s FAS lost 57 cents, or 7.2 percent, to $7.40. Gap lost $1.21, or 4.3 percent, to $27.21.

Benchmark U.S. crude oil lost 70 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $50.60 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell 69 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $56.25 a barrel in London. That weighed on energy companies.