Stocks Tumble on Weak Earnings Reports
Stocks tumbled in trading today, with all three major indexes ending at session lows. Stocks fell after a string of disappointing corporate earnings reports weighed down investors’ sentiment.
The Dow Jones ended the day 1.52% lower at 13,343.51, the S&P 500 ended the day 1.66% lower at 1,433.19, and the Nasdaq ended the day 2.19% lower at 3,005.62.
All sectors in the S&P 500 ended the day sharply lower. Conglomerates were the worst performers in the S&P 500 today, ending the day 2.46% lower. Technology sector also fell sharply, ending the day 2.20% lower. Financials ended the day 1.30% lower. Basic Materials sector ended the day 1.25% lower, while Energy sector ended the day 1.16% lower.
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) shares were among the major losers today. The stock fell after the software giant reported weaker than expected first-quarter financial results. MSFT shares ended the day 2.90% lower at $28.64.
Other major losers in trading today were McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD), which ended the day 4.46% lower at $88.72, General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), which ended the day 3.42% lower at $22.03, Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), which ended the day 1.90% lower at $681.79, and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), which ended the day 3.60% lower at $609.84.
Among the major gainers in trading today were Riverbed Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD), which ended the day 11.47% higher at $23.06, and SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK), which ended the day 2.71% higher at $44.02.
On the economic front, a report from the National Association of Realtors showed that existing home sales fell in the month of September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.75 million units.
European markets ended mostly lower earlier today, with the FTSE 100 Index in London closing 0.35% lower and the CAC 40 Index in Paris closing 0.87% lower. Asian markets ended on a mixed note overnight, with the Nikkei 225 Index closing 0.22% higher, and the Shanghai Composite Index closing 0.16% lower.
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Post Written By: Ed Liston
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.
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