Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 23, 2024.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank Thursday, putting the 30-stock index on track for yet another losing session as higher rates and lackluster earnings continued to pressure stocks.
The Dow lost 180 points, or 0.4%. The S&P 500 added about 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained about 0.6%.
Dragging the Dow was IBM, which fell more than 6.5% as the company’s consulting revenue narrowly missed analysts’ estimates. Boeing also slipped more than 2% after its machinists rejected a new labor contract.
Tesla‘s third-quarter results lifted the Nasdaq, meanwhile, surging more than 18% after the electric vehicle manufacturer posted third-quarter results that beat analyst expectations. Whirlpool and Lam Research were also higher on the back of better-than-expected earnings by roughly 13% and 3%, respectively. UPS also rose after posting results.
Roughly 160 S&P 500 companies have posted quarterly results so far, but their earnings are not meeting expectations. The blended growth rate, which tracks reports that have already come out and estimates for those set to report, indicate an overall S&P 500 earnings growth rate of 3.4% from the year-earlier period — falling short of analysts’ projections.
Treasury yields also continued to move lower on Thursday. The 10-year Treasury yield topped the 4.25% threshold on Wednesday at the high of the session.
“The pressure on the market has been from the rate side,” said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Asset Management. “That’s really what has dampened equity market enthusiasm, and you haven’t had big enough earnings news yet to drive the market to a new high … we’re also not seeing as broad a momentum as we were seeing.”
Stocks are coming off a losing session, with the Dow suffering its biggest one-day loss since early December, losing more than 400 points on Wednesday. The S&P 500 shed nearly 1%, and the Nasdaq lost 1.6%.
