Bears Reign in Early Trading

Stocks were trudging downward again this morning, as investors turned a pessimistic eye towards upcoming earnings reports. The Dow was off 217 points a half-hour into the session, while the Nasdaq and S&P traced 33- and 20-point declines of their own. Those declines mirrored moves overseas, with European benchmarks shedding 2% by midday, and Tokyo’s Nikkei falling 3%.

In earnings news, Toll Brothers said revenue had dropped 41% in the fourth quarter, and declined to give guidance for next quarter, while Starbucks saw net income fall a worse-than-expected 97%. Goldman Sachs, meanwhile, is expected to post its first-ever quarterly loss later today. (More stock market stories.)