US close: Stocks firmly lower as earnings remain in focus
Major indices were firmly in the red at the close of trading on Tuesday as market participants digested a number of earnings reports.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.02% at 33,530.83, while the S&P 500 slipped 1.58% to 4,071.63 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.98% weaker at 11,799.16.
The Dow closed 344.57 points lower on Tuesday, easily reversing modest gains recorded in the previous session.
Earnings remained in focus yet again on Tuesday, with UPS trading lower after its quarterly numbers fell short of expectations, while PepsiCo raised its full-year earnings forecast after posting quarterly figures that beat expectations.
General Motors also reported strong Q1 revenue and profits, leading it to hike its annual guidance, and McDonald's delivered earnings that came in ahead of estimates by $0.30 amid strong diner demand and price hikes.
On the macro front, building permits tumbled 8.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.41m in March, taking a huge bite out of February's 15.8% jump, according to a preliminary estimate from the Census Bureau. The reading missed market expectations of 1.45m and remained close to December's 31-month low of 1.33m.
Elsewhere, US house price growth continued to ebb, although at a more moderate pace, according to S&P/Case-Shiller, which said its national home price index rose at an annual pace of 2.0% in February. That was down from the 3.7% clip observed during the previous month.
On another note, manufacturing sector activity in states bordering the mid-southeastern US Atlantic coast deteriorated a bit more in April, with the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond's factory sector index slipping from a reading of -5 for March to -10 in April. Two of its largest components, the subindices for shipments and new orders, fell from 2 to -7 and from -11 to -20, respectively, while the gauge for employment improved from -5 to 0.
Moving on, sales of new single-family houses unexpectedly jumped 9.3% month-on-month in March to a seasonally adjusted annualised rate of 683,000, according to the Census Bureau, both the highest number in a year and beating forecasts of 630,000.
Finally, the Conference Board's US consumer confidence showed the headline figure had declined from 104 in March to 101.3 in April, compared to consensus estimates for a flat month-on-month reading.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
Dow Jones - Risers
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $165.18 0.92%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $491.92 0.61%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $37.30 0.54%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $116.53 0.51%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $125.89 0.39%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $244.87 0.17%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $156.39 0.03%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $63.85 -0.16%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $291.51 -0.58%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $52.51 -5.22%
American Express Co. (AXP) $156.12 -2.78%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $28.88 -2.63%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $275.42 -2.25%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $190.67 -2.18%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $137.67 -2.17%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $218.63 -2.15%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $124.66 -1.91%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $296.33 -1.76%
Boeing Co. (BA) $202.19 -1.74%
S&P 500 - Risers
Centene Corp. (CNC) $69.29 2.41%
Fiserv Inc. (FISV) $120.09 2.38%
PepsiCo Inc (PEP) $189.71 2.27%
Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) $54.68 2.21%
J. M. Smucker Co. (SJM) $154.34 1.76%
Ventas Inc. (VTR) $46.36 1.71%
PulteGroup Inc. (PHM) $64.95 1.71%
Kimberly-Clark Corp. (KMB) $144.67 1.57%
Welltower Inc (WELL) $76.39 1.41%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $74.80 1.40%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Msci Inc. (MSCI) $471.15 -13.49%
United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) $176.29 -9.99%
Northern Trust Corp. (NTRS) $78.16 -9.25%
Danaher Corp. (DHR) $231.99 -8.79%
Ameriprise Financial Inc. (AMP) $290.01 -7.32%
Packaging Corp. Amer (PKG) $134.38 -7.27%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $6.98 -6.81%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $21.44 -6.70%
Mettler Toledo International (MTD) $1,470.33 -6.60%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $34.72 -6.39%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Fiserv Inc. (FISV) $120.09 2.38%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $148.00 1.47%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $74.80 1.40%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $72.50 0.96%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $54.21 0.95%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $86.74 0.76%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $11.24 0.72%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $39.44 0.66%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $44.01 0.34%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $244.87 0.17%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $6.98 -6.81%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.70 -6.58%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $84.55 -6.35%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $419.83 -5.08%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $116.94 -4.63%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $218.69 -4.53%
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $203.90 -4.26%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $101.69 -4.21%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $483.23 -4.05%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $357.75 -3.91%