US close: Stocks end lower after mixed bag of earnings
US stocks declined on Tuesday as traders focused on a mixed bag of earnings reports on a quiet day of economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 14 points to 17,217, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were three and 24 points lower respectively.
In the earnings session, Verizon gained after it posted third quarter earnings that beat expectations, while insurer Travelers Co. climbed after its third quarter profit and revenue topped Wall Street’s forecast.
Harley Davidson slumped after its quarterly profit fell short of expectations, while defence group Lockheed Martin slipped after saying its third quarter profit declined on the back of lower demand and military force reductions.
IBM dipped after the technology giant posted a drop in third quarter revenue late on Monday.
Flash memory manufacturer SanDisk rallied after Bloomberg reported the company was in advanced negotiations with Western Digital over a takeover offer it received.
Honeywell International increased after revealing it had reached an agreement to sign German-based laboratory research business Seelze from Sigma-Aldrich for $119.4m.
Yum Brands advanced after the owner Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC revealed plans to spin off its business in China.
Facebook was under the cosh on reports Ireland will investigate a complaint about US spies potentially accessing the private details of the social media network’s users. The probe came after European Union’s highest court overturned a trans-Atlantic pact that allowed the free flow of such data 15 years ago.
In economic data, construction on new US homes snapped a two-month decline and rose in September, according to the Commerce Department. Housing starts climbed 6.5% last month to 1.21m compared with an upwardly revised reading of 1.1m last month, while analysts expected a largely unchanged reading.
"Stronger-than-expected housing starts suggest more residential investment," said analysts at Barclays.
"However, much of this activity is likely to show up in construction spending in the fourth quarter. Our third quarter GDP tracking estimate remains unchanged after rounding at 1.2%."
The dollar was broadly stable against the pound but declined 1.21% against the euro and fell 0.14% against the yuan, while Comex gold climbed 0.28% to $1,176.10.
Oil prices varied, with West Texas Intermediate down 0.74% to $45.55 per barrel, while Brent rose 0.02% to $48.62 a barrel.
S&P 500 - Risers
Windstream Holdings Inc (WIN) $7.45 +7.35%
Dover Corp. (DOV) $61.53 +6.62%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $139.66 +5.24%
Nabors Industries Ltd. (NBR) $10.60 +5.16%
Noble Corporation plc (NE) $13.02 +5.00%
Denbury Resources Inc. (DNR) $3.74 +4.47%
Sandisk Corp. (SNDK) $75.19 +4.43%
Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $35.88 +4.09%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $95.62 +3.88%
Ensco Plc. (ESV) $16.66 +3.61%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG) $48.25 -13.92%
Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) $15.00 -11.66%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $17.09 -10.80%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $74.86 -6.98%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $140.64 -5.75%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $11.39 -5.56%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $110.25 -4.86%
Varian Medical Systems Inc. (VAR) $75.30 -4.04%
Allergan plc (AGN) $263.42 -3.62%
Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) $47.34 -3.51%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $95.62 +3.88%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $108.95 +2.47%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $113.78 +1.83%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $70.27 +1.44%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $45.24 +1.21%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $28.52 +0.96%
3M Co. (MMM) $149.11 +0.75%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $42.29 +0.71%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $62.52 +0.48%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $109.84 +0.34%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $140.64 -5.75%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $50.39 -1.96%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $34.00 -1.45%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $74.43 -0.97%
Visa Inc. (V) $76.28 -0.92%
General Electric Co. (GE) $28.78 -0.72%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $132.37 -0.63%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $103.84 -0.62%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $33.44 -0.45%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $97.59 -0.36%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $139.66 +5.24%
Sandisk Corp. (SNDK) $75.19 +4.43%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $23.78 +2.77%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $16.19 +2.44%
Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $71.92 +2.13%
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $4.01 +1.90%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $113.78 +1.83%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $29.18 +1.67%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $53.02 +1.45%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $62.18 +1.44%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $17.09 -10.80%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $74.86 -6.98%
Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) $213.03 -6.61%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $110.25 -4.86%
Vimpelcom Ltd Ads (VIP) $4.04 -3.81%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $680.00 -2.85%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $42.55 -2.72%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $98.99 -2.66%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $116.24 -2.65%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $265.81 -2.64%