Stocks down 1 percent as data overshadows JPMorgan
Stocks fell 1 percent on Thursday, with Dow and Nasdaq seven-day winning streaks on the line, as anemic economic data overshadowed better-than-expected quarterly profits from JPMorgan Chase & Co .
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank said factory activity in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region fell unexpectedly and New York manufacturing hit the lowest since December 2009, while producer prices declined for a third straight month, raising concerns about deflation.
Jeff Kleintop, chief market strategist at LPL Financial in Boston, said the reports were reminding investors that we're going through a period of slowdown.
Dow component JPMorgan Chase fell 1.4 percent to $39.79, even as second-quarter profit topped estimates and its loan loss reserves fell by $1.5 billion. Much of the gains came in areas that will not be a stable future source of income.
JPMorgan's numbers were good, but they did it by cutting expenses, not through top-line revenue growth, said John Brady, senior vice president at MF Global in Chicago. In the longer term, that's troubling.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 99.60 points, or 0.96 percent, at 10,267.12. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 11.12 points, or 1.02 percent, at 1,084.05. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> fell 21.35 points, or 0.95 percent, at 2,228.49.
In one good economic report, jobless claims declined to a nearly two-year low in the latest week as seasonal layoffs eased at factories.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc and Google Inc will both report quarterly results after the market closes, giving further insight into the technology sector after Intel Corp posted strong results earlier this week.
AMD slid 2.3 percent to $7.28, while Google was off 1.4 percent to $488.91.
Amazon.com Inc fell 2.4 percent to $120.34 after Bank of America-Merrill Lynch downgraded the stock to neutral from buy, saying growth at the online retailer was slipping.
On the upside, NBTY Inc surged 44 percent to $54.01 after it agreed to be bought by Carlyle Group for $3.8 billion, $55 per share.
(Additional reporting by Leah Schnurr; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
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