S&P 500 closes lower as investors brush off better-than-expected earnings results
The S&P 500 dipped on Thursday even as second-quarter earnings results continued to beat expectations.
The broad index shed 0.33% to close at 4,360.03. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.7% to 14,543.13. The Dow Jones Industrials Average bucked the trend and added 53.79 points, or 0.15%, to close at 34,987.02.
Morgan Stanley’s second-quarter earnings report topped analysts’ expectations Thursday morning, yet its shares closed just 0.18% higher. The bank’s stock was up 35% this year going into the results.
For the 18 S&P 500 companies that beat analyst estimates for second-quarter earnings this week, the average earnings-per-share result was 18% higher than expected. But those companies saw their shares fall 0.58% on average after reporting.
The slight pullback in the S&P 500 came as the index hovered near its record high. The S&P 500 is already up 16% this year in anticipation of a big profit comeback.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday maintained the central bank will continue to evaluate the economic recovery before changing its accommodating monetary policies. The Fed chair spoke before the Senate banking panel in a second day of testimony before Congress.
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