The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Weak earnings send U.S. stocks down
Rising bond yields and a string of weak company reports and forecasts pushed stocks lower.
NEW YORK » Rising bond yields and a string of weak company reports and forecasts pushed stocks lower Wednesday as major indexes retreated from their recent record highs. Industrial and technology companies and banks fared the worst.
Companies including telecom giant AT&T, aerospace company Boeing, chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices and credit card issuer Discover Financial Services all gave shaky results, disappointing forecasts, or both. That sent stocks downward, and in early afternoon trading the Dow Jones industrial average fell as much as 190 points, after setting a record the day before. Stocks recovered some of their losses in afternoon trading, but all 11 industry sectors in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index finished the day lower.
Bond yields jumped to sevenmonth highs after a report from the Commerce Department showed orders for long-lasting manufactured goods and business investment grew in September. That’s good news for the economy, but it actually hurt stocks Wednesday, said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Equity Research, because it might lead to greater inflation.
“Higher yields (and) a string of positive returns from the market combined with some weak earnings numbers gave investors some reasons to attempt to take profits,” he said. Stocks have risen for each of the last six weeks and repeatedly set new highs.
The S&P 500 shed 11.98 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,557.15. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 112.30 points, or 0.5 percent, to 23,329.46. The Nasdaq composite sank 34.54 points, or 0.5 percent, to 6,563.89. The Russell 2000 index, which is comprised of smaller-company stocks, dropped 6.94 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,493.48.
The Commerce Department said orders for long-lasting manufactured goods rose 2.2 percent last month, much more than analysts expected. Much of the improvement came from greater sales of commercial aircraft. A key category that tracks business investment grew for the third month in a row.
Despite the gains in aircraft sales, a solid third-quarter report and a boost in its profit forecast, Boeing stock slumped $7.58, or 2.8 percent, to $258.42 Wednesday. It’s almost doubled in value in the last 12 months. Elsewhere in the industrial sector, defense contractor General Dynamics lost $4.83, or 2.3 percent, to $207.25. The company’s technology and marine systems businesses reported lower sales compared to a year ago, falling far short of estimates.
General Electric declined for the third day in a row and finished at a four-and-a-half-year low as it lost 39 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $21.50.
Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices dropped $1.92, or 13.5 percent, to $12.33 after its fourthquarter forecasts disappointed investors. Network equipment maker Juniper Networks also issued a mediocre forecast and its stock lost $1.60, or 6.1 percent, to $24.56.
Bond prices fell again. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.44 percent from 2.42 percent. That put pressure on companies that pay large dividends, like telecommunications companies, utilities, and food and beverage makers. Those stocks tend to do better when bond yields are down, as that makes the stocks more attractive to investors who are looking for income.