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U.S. stocks retreat on soft earnings reports

Xinhua, May 12, 2016 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks pulled back Wednesday as Wall Street assessed a batch of disappointing corporate earnings reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 217.23 points, or 1.21 percent, to 17,711.12. The S&P 500 lost 19.93 points, or 0.96 percent, to 2,064.46. The Nasdaq Composite Index moved down 49.19 points, or 1.02 percent, to 4,760.69.

With no major economic data due Wednesday, quarterly earnings reports from notable companies were in focus.

Shares of Disney tumbled 4.04 percent to 102.29 U.S. dollars apiece Wednesday after the entertainment and media enterprise reported worse-than-expected quarterly results.

After Tuesday's closing bell, the Walt Disney Company reported quarterly earnings of 2.1 billion dollars for its second fiscal quarter ended on April 2, 2016. Diluted earnings per share for the quarter increased 6 percent to 1.30 dollars from 1.23 dollars in the prior-year quarter.

Macy's posted the first-quarter 2016 earnings of 37 cents per diluted share, which were well below market estimates. The U.S. retailer's shares plummeted 15.17 percent to 31.38 dollars apiece following the release.

"We are seeing continued weakness in consumer spending levels for apparel and related categories. In particular, our sales trend relative to expectations meaningfully slowed beginning in mid-March, and first quarter results are below our original outlook," said Terry J. Lundgren, Macy's chairman and chief executive officer.

The latest data from Thomson Reuters showed that the S&P 500 companies' blended earnings in the first quarter of 2016 are expected to decrease 5.4 percent year on year, while the revenue is forecast to decline 1.9 percent.

Oil prices posted solid gains Wednesday as a government report showed U.S. crude stockpiles contracted unexpectedly. Endit