Stocks slid Thursday morning as investors worried about corporate earnings.
The Dow fell more than 160 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were both down nearly 1%. If the Dow finishes the day lower, that would be the third straight day of declines.
Stocks have been off to a rocky start in 2014 while bonds have outperformed. After last year’s big rally, investors are looking for signs the economy will be strong enough to keep the bull market going. And so earnings have come squarely in focus.
Shares of Nokia tanked after the cell phone and networking equipment maker reported a bigger than expected loss and drop in sales. Microsoft, which is in the process of buying the device business of Nokia, will report its earnings after the bell. In addition to results investors will be looking for information on Microsoft’s CEO succession plans.
McDonald’s was slightly higher Thursday after it reported a modest gain in income but revenue that fell short of forecasts. But it was just one of two Dow stocks that were higher in early trading. UnitedHealth was the other.
Shares of IBM fell after it announced a deal early Thursday to sell part of its server business to Chinese computer maker Lenovo for $2.3 billion. IBM fell on Wednesday as well following a weak earnings report.
Facebook shares dropped Thursday after a report Wednesday calling the social media giant’s longevity into question by comparing it to Myspace. Facebook had been on a tear, but investors have pulled back in recent days as they gear up for the company’s earnings next week.
But there were some big winners even as the broader market sank. Two stocks in CNNMoney’s Tech 30 Index were rising on good earnings news and other developments.
Netflix jumped 16% after the company reported its biggest quarterly gain in subscribers in three years.
Shares of eBay popped after the online auction site said Wednesday that investor Carl Icahn took a small stake in the company and submitted a proposal to spin out PayPal into a separate business. eBay said it had no plans to follow through on Icahn’s plan. CEO John Donahue called it a “distraction” on the company’s earnings conference call.
But Apple shares were a bit lower after gaining Wednesday following Icahn’s disclosure that he had increased his stake in the company by $500 million. The activist investor has been publicly campaigning for Apple to return more cash to shareholders in the form of a $150 billion buyback.
The major European markets were mixed in afternoon trading while Asian markets finished lower on disappointing report on manufacturing activity in China.
