(By Balachander) U.S. stocks tumbled as weak quarterly reports from companies including, GE, Microsoft and McDonald's dented sentiment.
The S&P 500 Index fell 1.66 percent to end at 1,433.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 1.51 percent to finish at 13,343.97. The Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 2.19 percent to close at 3,005.62.
On the U.S. economic front, the National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales for September fell 1.7 percent to 4.75 million, matching economists expectations.
Hot Stocks Of The Day: GE, MSFT, MCD, CMG, HON, MRVL, AMD, SNDK, RVBD, BHI, PH
In corporate news, General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) retreated 3.42 percent after the industrial conglomerate posted quarterly revenue that fell short of market expectations.
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) shed 2.90 percent after the software major posted lower earnings and revenue for the first quarter. Revenue at the company's Windows and Windows Live division plunged 33 percent.
McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD) dropped 4.46 percent after the fast food chain reported lower quarterly earnings that trailed Wall Street projections amid flat revenue and the impact of currency translation.
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) slumped 15.02 percent after the burrito chain forecast flat to low-single digit comparable restaurant sales for 2013.
Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) rose 1.74 percent after the industrial conglomerate reported higher quarterly earnings that topped market expectations. The company reduced its full-year sales forecast and posted weaker-than-expected quarterly sales amid a fall in demand for products in some of its short-cycle businesses in China and the U.S.
Parker-Hannifin Corp. (NYSE: PH) slumped 7.72 percent after the maker of motion and control systems posted lower first-quarter earnings and sales that missed expectations. The company also reduced its outlook for the year ending June 2013.
SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) added 2.71 percent after the data storage company posted stronger-than-estimated third quarter earnings.
Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL) tumbled 14.27 percent after the semiconductor maker slashed its third-quarter view and said its Chief Financial Officer Clyde Hosein has resigned. Several Wall Street analysts downgraded their ratings on the stock.
Riverbed Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD) surged 11.45 percent after the provider of networking services posted better-than-estimated third-quarter results.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) plunged 16.98 percent after the chip maker posted a third-quarter loss, wider than market expectations amid a drop in revenue and margins due to weak demand for PCs and notebooks. AMD also announced a restructuring plan, including a workforce reduction and site consolidations in the fourth quarter.
Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) fell 4.98 percent after the supplier of oilfield systems posted a 61 percent drop in quarterly earnings due to the imbalance in the North American Pressure Pumping business. Results also missed Wall Street expectations.
Global Markets:
European markets ended lower amid worries over Spain, with Germany's DAX down 0.76 percent to close at 7,380.64. France's CAC40 declined 0.87 percent to finish at 3,504.56. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 shed 0.35 percent to end at 5,896.15.
Among Asian markets, China's Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index dipped 0.16 percent to end at 2,128.30. Japan's Nikkei 225 added 0.22 percent to finish at 9,002.68. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.15 percent to close at 21,551.76. India's BSE Sensex finished at 18,682.31, down 0.58 percent.
Commodity & Currency Scan:
Crude oil futures dropped 2.10 percent to $90.17 per barrel, while natural gas futures rose 0.31 percent to $3.598 per million metric British thermal units. Gold futures declined 1.28 percent to $1,722.3 per ounce and silver futures retreated 2.50 percent to $32.045 per ounce.
In the currency market, the euro shed 0.34 percent against the U.S. dollar to 1.3022. The British pound fell 0.23 percent against the greenback to 1.6007, while the dollar inched up 0.05 percent against the Japanese yen to 79.3200.