Dow remains in the red
Priceline shunned after results offer a mixed bag
Snap Inc misses Street's estimates by a mile
The Dow Jones average declined to join the party as the S&P closed higher and the Nasdaq Composite pushed on to new highs.
The Dow Jones finished at 20,943, down 33 points on the day, in contrast to the S&P 500, which recovered from a weak start to close just below 2,400, up three points.
The Nasdaq Composite advanced nine points to 6,129.
The first set of results from Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP) as a public company received a savage reaction.
Released after the bell, the Snapchat owner’s first quarter earnings missed market expectations.
The shares lost a quarter of their value as the company posed a net loss of US$2.21bn, equivalent to US$2.31 a share; the market had expected a much more modest loss of 21 cents a share.
The first quarter net loss included a staggering US$2bn of stock-based compensation expenses.
1.30pm... Dow remains in the red
Not for the first time this week, the main benchmarks seem to be confused over direction.
After a soft start, the Dow Jones average remained in the red, down 33 points at 20,945, but both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite turned it around; the former was up a couple of points at 2,3988 and the latter was seven points to the good at 6,127.
Theme parks operator and films maker Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) was a drag on the Dow after it released disappointing results last night.
READ Earnings more beauty than beast, but ESPN drags on Disney’s stock price
Disney shares fell 2.6% despite earnings per share of US$1.50 being ahead of market expectations of US$1.41.
Operating income in the media division, which includes ESPN, fell 3% year-on-year to US$2.22bn, which was below the market consensus.
Online travel agency Priceline Group Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN) was down 5% at US$1,814.51 after a mixed first quarter statement.
Revenue of US$2.42bn was a tad shy of the US$2.45bn the market had been expecting, but adjusted earnings per share of US$9.88 were about a dollar higher than analysts had expected.
10.01... Soft start as market questions Trump's decision to fire FBI director
Stocks opened on the back foot as investors turn to safe investments such as gold following the firing of FBI director James Comey.
Come, who reportedly found out he had been canned via news broadcasts as he was away from the office when the termination letter was delivered, incurred the wrath of the White House because of his handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails.
Come went public with news of the FBI investigation just days before the presidential election, but kept quiet about the agency’s snooping into alleged ties between Donald Trump’s campaign and Russian intelligence agents.
“The FBI reputation and credibility have suffered substantial damage,” said deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenberg yesterday.
The turmoil has encouraged investors to turn to the traditional haven investment of gold; the yellow metal was trading 0.6% higher at US$1,223.50 an ounce.
Oil was doing even better, with West Texas Intermediate 1.7% firmer at US$46.65 a barrel.
Stock benchmarks were lower, though not much lower in the case of the S&P 500, which was half a point off the pace at 2,396.
The Dow Jones slipped 45 points to 20,931.
Shareholders were baling out of Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP), the on line user reviews site, after it lowered revenue expectations for the current quarter.
The shares lost a fifth of their value as the company said second quarter revenues were tipped to come in somewhere between US$202mln and US$206mln, after first quarter numbers of US$197.3mln.
The market had penciled in a figure of US$230.9mln for the second quarter and US$889mln for the whole year; Yelp said full-year revenues were expected to clock in at between US$850mln and US$865mln.
First quarter results from publisher Time Inc (NYSE:TIME) were of the sort it would have preferred buried on page two.
The shares lost one-sixth of their value as revenue eased to US$636mln from US$690mln the year-before. The underlying loss per share widened to 18 cents from 11 cents in the corresponding quarter of last year.
Preview - Weak start expected after Comey's firing
The decision by President Trump to fire the FBI director, James Comey, looks set to introduce some nervousness into markets.
Spread betting quotes indicate the S&P 500 will open around two points below last night’s close of 2,397.
Computer gaming-related stocks could be in focus when open outcry trading starts, after well-received updates after the bell last night from computer graphics chip maker Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) and computer games publisher Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ:EA).