Stocks slide as earnings disappoint

U.S. stocks retreated from record highs on Wall Street Thursday as large companies delivered weak earnings and disappointing forecasts.

The daylong slide marked a turnaround from Wednesday, when a series of solid earnings helped push major indexes to records. This is one of the busiest weeks in the latest round of corporate earnings. The market has been volatile since reports started trickling in last week.

The market has been swinging up and down for the last two weeks as investors reward and punish corporate earnings, but the overall picture shows solid performances. More than 75% of S&P 500 companies reporting have so far beat somewhat tempered forecasts.

“It’s a pretty low bar to chin and a lot of companies have chinned it,” said Katie Nixon, chief investment officer at Northern Trust Wealth Management.

The S&P 500 index fell 15.89 points, to 3,003.67. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 128.99 points, to 27,140.98. The Nasdaq composite fell 82.96 points, or 1%, to 8,238.54.

Technology stocks sustained the steepest declines throughout the day. Digital payments company Paypal slid 5.1% after cutting its revenue forecast. Microsoft and Apple also fell. Ford slid 7.5% and sent automakers and consumer-oriented stocks lower after reporting a severe drop in profit that fell shy of analysts’ forecasts.

Align Technology plummeted 27% after the maker of the Invisalign dental system gave investors a surprisingly weak forecast because of weak demand in China. The company held down the rest of the health care sector.