Wall Street retreated for the third straight session today following disappointing results and forecasts from companies including 3M and Caterpillar, adding to U.S. profit concerns.
The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) skidded 0.6 percent to 2,102.37 at 3:40 p.m. in New York. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) retreated 0.7 percent to 17,735.63, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) dropped 0.5 percent to 5,146.52.
Declines accelerated during the session, putting the main indexes near their intraday lows. Utilities, materials and industrial stocks led the selling. The cautious mood on Wall Street was also evident in the rise in havens such as Treasurys and a selloff in commodities.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 2,094 to 934, for a 2.24-to-1 ratio on the downside; on the Nasdaq, 1,870 issues fell and 891 advanced for a 2.10-to-1 ratio favoring decliners.
MOVERS:
Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) fell 3.6 percent to $76.86 and hit a four-year low of $76.65. The world's largest construction and mining equipment maker reported sales declines in key markets in a sluggish global economy.
3M (NYSE:MMM) sank 3.8 percent to $149.46 after the diversified manufacturer cut its full-year forecast.
Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) fell 4.1 percent to $61.55 after the maker of smartphone hardware said it will cut jobs and spending in the face of rising competition, and provided weak outlook for the current quarter.
SanDisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) jumped 18 percent to $63.99 after the data storage products maker reported a quarterly profit that was double of what analysts had expected.
In consumer shares, McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) slid 0.3 percent to $97.27, reversing an earlier advance. The world’s largest burger chain said second-quarter profit fell 13 percent, weakened by a decline in global same-store sales as fewer customers ate at its restaurants.
General Motors (NYSE:GM) rose 4.2 percent to 31.57. The car giant earned an adjusted $1.29 per share for the second quarter, $0.21 above estimates, but revenue was well below forecasts.
Under Armour (NYSE:UA) advanced 7.4 percent to $95.96 after lifting its full-year revenue outlook. The athletic apparel maker reported quarterly profit of $0.07 per share, $0.02 above estimates, with revenue well above forecast.
Dunkin’ Brands Group (NASDAQ:DNKN) slipped 5.3 percent to $53.53 after reporting better-than-expected results for its second quarter.
Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) fell 3.3 percent to $62.32. The parent of NBCUniversal and CNBC earned $0.84 per share for the second quarter, matching estimates, with revenue beating forecasts.
American Express (NYSE:AXP) fell 2.7 percent to $76.84 despite posting a profit that beat expectations as a strong dollar continues to hurt companies with large overseas operations. Revenue fell below Street forecasts.
Cigna (NYSE:CI) rose 1.7 percent to $153.72 after reports said U.S. health insurer Anthem (NYSE:ANTM) was close to finalizing negotiations to acquire the company in a deal valued at roughly $48 billion.
Dow Chemical (NYSE:DOW) tumbled 5.6 percent to $47.20 as the chemical maker warned of soft demand in China despite reporting better-than-expected quarterly earnings.
COMMODITIES:
August gold added 0.2 percent to settle at $1,094.10 an ounce on Comex.
September West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.5 percent to settle at $48.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest since March 31.
DATA:
New applications for U.S. unemployment benefits declined by 26,000 to 255,000 in the seven days ended on July 18. New claims have been under key 300,000 since late February, the longest run in 15 years.