US stocks fall as tech earnings blowout overshadowed by spiking virus cases
- US stocks fell on Friday as blowout tech earnings were outweighed by climbing coronavirus cases.
- Shares of Facebook, Apple, and Amazon surged following earnings beats reported Thursday after the bell.
- Coronavirus cases continue to climb, threatening to derail the economic recovery from the pandemic recession.
- Read more on Business Insider.
US stocks declined on Friday as traders weighed blowout earnings reports from major technology companies against climbing coronavirus cases.
Shares of Facebook, Apple, and Amazon jumped after reporting quarterly earnings that beat analyst expectations and showed tech sector's resilience in the face of recession. Alphabet also beat Wall Street expectations for quarterly earnings but reported its first ever revenue decline, sending shares lower.
Elsewhere in earnings, Caterpillar reported higher-than-expected EPS and revenue, sending shares higher. Pinterest surged as much as 37% on an earnings beat showing revenue and user growth. Chevron, the oil giant, slipped after reporting its worst quarterly loss in at least 30 years.
Here's where US indexes stood at 2:40 p.m. ET on Friday:
- S&P 500: 3,234.01, down 0.4%
- Dow Jones industrial average: 26,142.77, down 0.7% (171 points)
- Nasdaq composite: 10,623.86, up 0.33%
Meanwhile, coronavirus cases continue to climb in the US. New cases jumped by more than 70,000 on Thursday, bringing the total to more than 4.4 million, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Thus far, more than 152,000 Americans have died from the virus.
Investors continue to watch economic conditions to track the recovery from the pandemic recession. US gross domestic product slumped by a record 33% in the second quarter, according to figures released Thursday. The same day, initial jobless claims increased for the second straight week, snapping a stretch of declines since March.
US consumer sentiment slumped further in July amid an uptick in new COVID-19 cases, according to a report Friday. Personal income fell more than expected in June as the impact of one-time government stimulus checks faded, but consumer spending jumped 5.6%.
Congress and the White House again failed to come to an agreement on coronavirus relief on Thursday night. The additional $600 weekly unemployment insurance benefit expired at the end of July, slashing income for millions of out-of-work Americans.
Gold increased to a record high, and oil gained. West Texas Intermediate crude rose as much as 1.6%, to $40.55 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, gained 1.2%, to $43.44 per barrel, at intraday highs.