US stocks fall on sour earnings, trade fears

US stocks dropped on Thursday after earnings disappointed and trade jitters escalated over worries that the European Union could slap retaliatory tariffs on goods imported from the United States.

Officials from the EU Trade Commission, due in Washington next week for trade talks, are said to be preparing a list of tit-for-tat actions in response to proposed US tariffs on EU cars.

Automakers said tariffs on US cars and car parts could increase vehicle prices by $83 billion annually. Ford Motor Co and General Motors Co were down 0.5 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve's Beige Book report showed manufacturers in all 12 districts of the US central bank are worried about the impact of the trade dispute.

“If this ends up being a protracted war, it's going to be bad news,” said Stephen Massocca, senior vice president at Wedbush Securities in San Francisco. “Unless this thing starts to show significant progress prior to the midterms, it's going to be a black mark, because the economy will start to slow down,” he said, referring to congressional elections on Nov. 6.

Shares of eBay dropped 10.1 per cent after a disappointing earnings report. The stock was among the biggest drags on the Nasdaq and the S&P 500. American Express Co dipped 2.7 per cent after the credit card company reported rising expenses due to increased spending on its rewards programme.

The dollar index briefly hit a one-year high, reinforcing worries that the strong greenback could hurt results from U.S. multinationals. But the dollar pared gains after President Donald Trump expressed concern about a strong currency.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 134.79 points, or 0.53 per cent, to 25,064.5, the S&P 500 lost 11.13 points, or 0.40 per cent, to 2,804.49 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 29.15 points, or 0.37 per cent, to 7,825.30.

The second-quarter reporting period is gaining momentum, with results in so far from 69 companies in the S&P 500. Earnings now are forecast to have risen 21.5 per cent, compared with the 20.7 per cent gain seen on July 1. Of the companies that have reported, 85.5 per cent have surprised analyst estimates to the upside, according to Thomson Reuters data.

The financial sector saw the biggest percentage drop in the S&P 500, down 1.4 per cent. While all three major US stock indexes closed in negative territory, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.37-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 1.17-to-1 ratio favoured advancers.

The US yield curve flattened close to levels not seen in 11 years on upbeat economic data, dragging on banks. JPMorgan, Bank of America and Citigroup were all down more than 1 per cent.

Bank of New York Mellon fell 5.2 per cent after saying the loss of two clients will continue to hurt results, while Travelers Cos was among the biggest drags on the Dow Jones, falling 3.7 per cent following a profit miss attributed to US storm-related losses.

Among gainers, International Business Machines Corp stock was up 3.3 per cent as new business helped the company top second-quarter Street estimates. Comcast Corp rose 2.6 per cent on news that the cable company had dropped its pursuit of Twenty-First Century Fox entertainment assets to focus on its bid for Sky Plc.

On the economic front, the US Labor Department reported that the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest in more than 48-1/2 years as the labour market continues to tighten.

The S&P 500 posted 24 new 52-week highs and three new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 102 new highs and 38 new lows. Volume on US exchanges was 6.29 billion shares, compared with the 6.46 billion-share average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.