Wall Street’s major indexes fell on Friday as weak earnings reports from major technology companies led to a big drop for the sector. The S&P/TSX Composite Index also ended lower, with the tech sector also struggling.
Intel Corp shares sank 8.6 percent after the chipmaker’s data center business missed estimates amid stiff rivalry from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. AMD shares rose 3.2 percent.
Twitter Inc shares plunged 20.5 percent after the social media network reported a decline in monthly active users, versus the increase analysts had expected, and warned of further drops as it deletes phony accounts.
The S&P 500 technology index fell 2.0 percent, the most among the major S&P sectors. Shares of Apple Inc, which is set to report quarterly results on Tuesday, fell 1.7 percent. Shares of Microsoft Corp and Alphabet Inc , which had soared after both companies recently reported strong quarterly results, dropped 1.8 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively. Alphabet shares touched an all-time high earlier in the session but reversed course.
The pressure on tech stocks started on Thursday after Facebook Inc gave a dismal forecast that caught investors off guard about growth prospects in a sector that has led the market’s march toward record highs.
“There’s a bit of concern perhaps growing that the bloom’s off the rose for these tech stocks, that they are not invincible,” said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel in New York.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 76.01 points, or 0.3 percent, to 25,451.06, the S&P 500 lost 18.62 points, or 0.66 percent, to 2,818.82 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 114.77 points, or 1.46 percent, to 7,737.42.
The Nasdaq exceeded Thursday’s losses to register once again its biggest daily percentage drop in a month.
For the week, the Nasdaq shed 1.06 percent, but the S&P rose 0.61 percent. The Dow, cushioned by promising developments in trade relations between the United States and the European Union earlier this week, added 1.57 percent.
Intel and Twitter’s disappointing results overshadowed data from the Commerce Department showing the U.S. economy grew at a 4.1 percent annualized rate in the second quarter, its fastest pace in nearly four years, on higher consumer spending and farmers rushing soybean shipments to China to beat tariffs.
Economists and investors cautioned against putting too much weight on the growth, which matched expectations, as the trade-related boost is expected to unwind later this year.
“It’s old news,” Ghriskey said. “Trade is bound to have an impact on the coming quarters if the tariff issue isn’t resolved.”
AbbVie Inc shares fell 3.6 percent after sales of its Humira drug in the second quarter barely beat Wall Street views, raising concerns about the drug’s viability as a cash-cow.
Amazon.com Inc shares jumped as much as 4 percent to a record high of $1,880.05 after the e-commerce giant forecast strong sales and posted a profit that was double analysts’ estimates. Amazon shares closed up 0.5 percent.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 2.03-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 3.39-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 25 new 52-week highs and three new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 63 new highs and 99 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 6.81 billion shares, compared with the 6.04 billion average over the last 20 trading days.
Canada
The S&P/TSX Composite closed at 16,393.95, down 61.78 points, or 0.4 per cent, bringing the weekly decline to 0.3 per cent. Canada’s tech sector lost 4.2 per cent. High-flying Canadian tech company Constellation Software fell 9 per cent after reporting disappointing results.
Some other key moves:
Aurora Cannabis Inc. (TSX:ACB). Healthcare. Up 13 cents, or 1.90 per cent, to $6.98 on 37.6 million shares.
Yamana Gold Inc. (TSX:YRI). Miner. Up 33 cents, or 9.09 per cent, to $3.96 on 7.8 million shares.
Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD.B). Aerospace, rail equipment. Down two cents, or 0.41 per cent, to $4.82 on 6.1 million shares.
Nevsun Resources Ltd. (TSX:NSU). Miner. Up one cent, or 0.21 per cent, to $4.85 on 6.02 million shares.
New Gold Inc. (TSX:NGD). Miner. Down 25 cents, or 13.23 per cent, to $1.64 on 5.8 million shares.
Cenovus Energy Inc. (TSX:CVE). Oil and gas. Down 42 cents, or 3.14 per cent, to $12.97 on 5.4 million shares.
Companies reporting major news:
Air Canada (TSX:AC). Airline. Down seven cents, or 0.30 per cent, to $23.41 on 2.5 million shares. The Montreal-based airline experienced a 31 per cent increase in the price of jet fuel compared with last year’s second quarter and will offset some of the impact with higher fares and other initiatives, chief executive Calin Rovinescu said Friday. The company’s adjusted earnings dropped to $114 million or 41 cents per share, down from $226 million or 82 cents per share from the second-quarter in 2017.
Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd. (TSX:KML). Oil and gas. Up seven cents, or 0.42 per cent, to $16.63 on 182,129 shares. The head of Kinder Morgan Canada says work is to resume next month to prepare a route for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. Ian Anderson says the company will secure, survey and prepare the right of way in coming months, and First Nations will monitor the work to look for traditional artifacts and medicines.