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US stocks slip on last day of strong month

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US stocks have fallen following a flood of mixed earnings reports, but registered strong gains for the entire tumultuous month of October.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 73.01 points (0.47 per cent) to finish at 15,545.75 on Thursday.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 6.77 (0.38 per cent) to 1,756.54, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 10.91 (0.28 per cent) to 3,919.71.

Despite the day’s losses, the markets cruised through a dramatic October, marked by a cliffhanging Washington battle over the budget and the debt ceiling, as well as the 16-day partial government shutdown.

Over the month, the Dow gained 2.8 per cent, the Nasdaq was up 3.9 per cent and the S&P 500 advanced 4.5 per cent.

Earnings returned to focus after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday maintained its aggressive monetary stimulus policy in a widely expected decision.

ExxonMobil reported an 18 per cent fall in profit to $US7.9 billion, but the biggest US oil company beat expectations on higher oil and gas output despite weakness in the refining segment. The Dow member’s shares rose 0.9 per cent.

Dow component Visa fell 3.8 per cent after earnings matched expectations but revenues lagged forecasts of $US3.02 billion at $US2.97 billion. The company authorised a new $US5.0 billion share repurchase program.

Facebook fell 2.4 per cent after signaling that it sees usage weakness among young teens, a prime market for the social-networking giant.

Starbucks slipped 0.3 per cent after giving a 2014 earnings forecast that lagged analyst expectations.

Cosmetics company Estee Lauder lost 0.6 per cent despite besting expectations by three cents at 76 cents per share and raising the range of its earnings guidance. The company is “well positioned for the important holiday shopping period,” said chief executive Fabrizio Freda.

But another cosmetics company, Avon Products, plummeted 21.9 per cent after disclosing that US agencies are seeking a penalty of a “magnitude significantly greater” than the company’s proposal to settle a foreign bribery investigation.

Oil company ConocoPhillips edged up 0.1 per cent after earnings rose 38 per cent to $US2.5 billion. The company said it was on track with some $US8.9 billion in asset sales and with efforts to grow oil and gas production by 3-5 per cent.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.55 per cent from 2.53 per cent on Wednesday, while the 30-year advanced to 3.64 per cent from 3.63 per cent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.