Wall Street stocks have fallen following weak US economic data and a mixed outlook from JPMorgan Chase on some of its key business units.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 27.48 points (0.17 per cent) to 16,179.66.
The broad-based S&P 500 dipped 2.49 (0.13 per cent) to 1,845.12, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gave up 5.38 (0.13 per cent) at 4,287.59.
Data came in below expectations. The Case-Shiller index for home prices in 20 leading US cities fell 0.1 per cent in December, the second straight monthly decline. The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index fell to 78.1 in February from 79.4 in January.
Mace Blicksilver, director of Marblehead Asset Management, said investors were also disappointed by comments from JPMorgan Chase during an investor day that indicated a mediocre outlook in some divisions, including investment banking and fixed-income trading.
The JPMorgan outlook is “a little bit of a negative”, Blicksilver said. As a result, the “financials are a little weaker”.
JPMorgan fell 1.7 per cent, while investment banks Goldman Sachs slipped 1.8 per cent and Morgan Stanley lost 2.0 per cent.
Earnings from Home Depot showed the home-improvement retailer continued to thrive, beating forecasts by two US cents, and comparable-store sales up 4.4 per cent. The company posted the day’s biggest gains in the Dow, rising 4.0 per cent.
Macy’s earnings of $US2.31 per share bested forecasts by 14 cents, as investors dismissed revenues that came in under expectations as the result of bad weather that closed stores. Shares jumped 6.0 per cent.
Shares of electric automaker Tesla Motors powered 13.9 per cent higher after Consumer Reports named its luxury car Tesla Model S the top vehicle of 2014 to buy. The stock also benefited from a bullish report by Morgan Stanley.
LinkedIn announced plans to launch a Chinese language version of its online professional networking site, lifting shares 5.1 per cent.
Biotechnology company InterMune skyrocketed 170.8 per cent on news that its Pirfenidone treatment significantly reduced the progression of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in a trial.
General Motors significantly expanded a recall of certain models of Chevrolet and other brands due to an ignition defect. The largest US automaker has now recalled 1.6 million cars for the flaw, up from 780,000 two weeks ago. Shares fell 1.2 per cent.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 2.70 per cent from 2.75 per cent on Monday, while the 30-year declined to 3.66 per cent from 3.71 per cent.
