(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer) US stocks retreated on Friday as disappointing quarterly reports from General Electric and Bank of America dented investor optimism.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 67.03 points or 0.67% to finish at 9,995.91. The S&P 500 slipped 8.88 points or 0.81% to end at 1,087.68. The Nasdaq Composite decreased 16.49 points or 0.76% to 2,156.80.
Early on Friday, Bank of America (NYSE:
BAC) announced that its net loss applicable to common shareholders was $2.24 billion, or 26 cents a share in the third quarter, compared to a profit of $704 million, or 15 cents a share a year ago. Total revenue net of interest expense was $26.04 billion compared to $19.62 billion last year. Shares of the bank plunged 84 cents or 4.64% to $17.26.
JP Morgan (NYSE:
JPM) lost $1.10 or 2.33% to $46.06. Citigroup shares slid 16 cents or 3.37% to $4.59. Wells Fargo (NYSE:
WFC) tumbled $1.36 or 4.33% to $30.02.
Shares of General Electric (NYSE:
GE), the largest US conglomerate, plummeted 71 cents or 4.23% to $16.08 after it reported that its third-quarter net income dropped 44% to $2.49 billion, or 23 cents a share, from $4.31 billion, or 43 cents a share, in the prior-year quarter. Restructuring and other items totaled $600 million, or 5 cents a share. Revenue decreased 20% to $37.8 billion.
Halliburton Co (NYSE:
HAL), the world's second-largest oilfield services company, said Thursday that third-quarter profit declined to $262 million, or 29 cents per share, from $672 million, or 76 cents per share, in the comparable period last year. Revenue decreased 26 percent to $3.6 billion. Shares of the company finished at $30.40, up 55 cents or 1.84%.
Late on Thursday, IBM Corp. (NYSE:
IBM) reported that its third-quarter earnings increased 14% to $3.2 billion, or $2.40 a share, from $2.8 billion, or $2.04 a share, in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue dropped to $23.6 billion from $25.3 billion. IBM lifted its full-year earnings forecast to a profit of at least $9.85 a share from $9.70 a share. Shares of technology bellwether slumped $6.34 or 4.95% to $121.64.
Shares of internet search giant Google (NYSE:
GOOG) rose $19.94 or 3.76% to $549.85 after it said that third quarter net income rose to $1.64 billion, or $5.13 a share, from $1.29 billion, or $4.06 a share, in the same quarter last year. Excluding special items, the company said earnings for the quarter were $5.89 a share. Revenue rose nearly 1% to $4.38 billion.
AMD (NYSE:
AMD), the world's second largest chip maker, said Thursday that its net loss totaled $135 million, or 18 cents a share, compared with a loss in the year-earlier period of $127 million, or 22 cents a share. Revenue fell to $1.4 billion from $1.8 billion in the year-earlier quarter. Shares sank 45 cents or 7.27% to $5.74.
Shares of rival Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:
INTC), lost 49 cents or 2.37% to close at $20.18.
Among Dow gainers, airplane maker Boeing Co. (NYSE:
BA) rose $1.43 or 2.76% to $53.19.
On the economic front, U.S. Federal Reserve industrial production increased 0.7% in September. Capacity utilization climbed to 70.5%. Economists expected industrial production to rise 0.2% and capacity utilization to increase to 69.8%.
European stocks settled down. The UK FTSE lost 32.71 points or 0.63% to 5,190.24. The German DAX and French CAC decreased 1.50% and 1.45% respectively.
Asian stocks finished mixed. The Nikkei 225 rose 18.91 points or 0.18% to $10,257.56. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong fell 69.18 points or 0.31% to 21,929.90.
NYMEX crude oil for November delivery climbed $95 cents or 1.2% to settle at $78.53 a barrel.
Disclosure: Author doesn't own any of the stocks discussed here.
