Roundup: U.S. stocks extend losses on downbeat earnings reports

U.S. stocks kept falling Wednesday as disappointing quarterly results from big companies weighed on Wall Street sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 68.25 points, or 0.38 percent, to 17,851.04. The S&P 500 lost 5.06 points, or 0.24 percent, to 2,114.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 36.35 points, or 0.70 percent, to 5,171.77.

Apple shares slumped 4.23 percent to 125.22 dollars apiece Wednesday though the company reported slightly better-than- expected financial results for the third quarter of its fiscal year 2015.

However, its revenue forecast for the fourth quarter fell below expectations and its iPhone sales missed market estimates.

The tech giant posted quarterly revenue of 49.6 billion U.S. dollars and quarterly net profit of 10.7 billion dollars, or 1.85 dollars per diluted share.

Shares of Microsoft dipped 3.68 percent to 45.54 dollars apiece after reporting lackluster quarterly results.

The company announced that revenues for the quarter ended June 30 were 22.2 billion dollars. Gross margin, operating loss, and loss per share for the quarter were 14.7 billion dollars, 2.1 billion dollars, and 0.40 dollar per share, respectively.

Shares of Yahoo decreased 1.23 percent to 39.24 dollars apiece Wednesday following the release of quarterly results that also missed Wall Street forecasts. It reported a second-quarter loss of 21.6 million dollars, or 2 cents a share, from a year-earlier profit of 269.7 million dollars, or 26 cents a share.

Latest data from Thomson Reuters showed that the S&P 500 companies' blended earnings in the second quarter of 2015 are expected to decrease 1.5 percent year on year, while the revenue is forecast to decline 3.8 percent.

On the economic front, U.S. existing-home sales increased in June to their highest pace in over eight years, according to the National Association of Realtors Wednesday. Total existing-home sales increased 3.2 percent from a downwardly revised 5.32 million in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.49 million in June, beating market consensus.

"With tightening on the horizon, concerns that mortgage rates could rise further could be leading potential homeowners to buy now instead of waiting, especially given that supply is tight and prices are rising," said Sophia Kearney-Lederman, an economic analyst at FTN Financial, in a note.

The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, fell 0.82 percent to end at 12.12 Wednesday.

In other markets, oil prices plunged Wednesday as government data showed U.S. crude inventories climbed last week.

The West Texas Intermediate for September delivery moved down 1. 67 dollars to settle at 49.19 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for September delivery decreased 1.04 dollars to close at 56.00 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Future Exchange.

The U.S. dollar climbed against most major currencies Wednesday as data for existing home sales from the country came out better than expected.

In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.0908 dollars from 1.0943 dollars in the previous session, while the U.S. dollar bought 124.07 Japanese yen, higher than 123.94 yen of the previous session.

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell to a 5-year-low on Wednesday as the U.S. dollar strengthened.

The most active gold contract for August delivery dropped 12 dollars, or 1.09 percent, to settle at 1,091.50 dollars per ounce. Endite