Stocks fell on Thursday as technology shares led a broad market decline. Investors also pored through the latest batch of corporate earnings results along with comments from the top European Central Bank official.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 200 points lower. The S&P 500 pulled back 0.7%. The Nasdaq Composite lagged, sliding 1%.
The S&P 500 technology sector dropped 0.9%. Tech-related stocks like Amazon and Alphabet slid 0.8% each ahead of their quarterly earnings reports after the bell.
Facebook’s second-quarter earnings and revenue beat analyst expectations. The social media giant’s average revenue per user, a key metric for the company — came in at $7.05, well above a FactSet estimate of $6.87. The stock initially popped more than 1% before rolling over to trade 2.2% lower.
Ford shares slid 7.7% after its earnings fell short of estimates and its 2019 guidance disappointed investors. Boeing shares were battered again after reporting in the previous session a massive quarterly loss. Boeing dropped more than 3.5% after sliding 3.1% in Wednesday.
Shares of 3M after the company reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the previous quarter. CEO Mike Roman said the company cost-management efforts and improved cash flow contributed to the strong quarter.
About a third of S&P 500 companies have reported second-quarter earnings so far. Of those companies, 75% have posted a better-than-forecast profit, according to FactSet. Alphabet, Amazon, Intel, Starbucks and Mattel are all scheduled to report after the close Thursday.
Wall Street also pored through comments from ECB President Mario Draghi ahead of a key Federal Reserve meeting next week.
Draghi said that there was not a significant risk of a recession in the region, something traders took to mean that proposed stimulus would not be as deep as expected. U.S. stock futures fell on the remarks while the euro ripped higher.
Earlier in the day, the ECB kept interest rates unchanged by hinted that further monetary easing as well as a rate cut.
“At the very least, a rate cut is coming,” said Gregory Faranello, head of U.S. rates at AmeriVet Securities. “Overall, they’re throwing the kitchen sink at their current economic situation.”
“This is clearly setting the stage for what we’re going to see next week from the Federal Reserve,” he added. “We’re in an environment in which central banks are defending their home turf.”
The Fed is scheduled to hold a monetary policy meeting July 30-31 in which a rate cut of at least 25 basis points is expected.
