Markets Slump After Weak Earnings Reports

McDonald's, 3M reported disappointing results
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 28, 2020 3:48 PM CDT
McDonald's, 3M Slump After Weak Earnings Report
Profits from many companies have so far been better than analysts were expecting, though they’re still on pace to be down nearly 42% from a year earlier, according to FactSet.   (NYSE Photo by Colin Ziemer via AP)

A late slump left stocks broadly lower on Wall Street Tuesday, while cautious investors continued to push money into gold and Treasurys, leaving gold at another record high. Weak earnings from several big US companies also dampened the mood. The S&P 500 gave up 0.6% after falling steadily in the last hour of trading. Weakness in technology stocks pulled the Nasdaq down 1.3%, to 10,402.09. The S&P 500 fell 20.97 points, to 3,218.44. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 205.49 points, or 0.8%, to 26,379.28. The Dow was pulled lower by a sizable loss in 3M, the AP reports. The maker of N95 masks slumped 4.2% after reporting earnings that fell shy of analysts’ expectations.

McDonald’s lost 2.3% after it said its earnings during the spring plunged by more than two-thirds from a year earlier as the pandemic kept customers away. The results were weaker than Wall Street was expecting. Ecolab slumped 7.2% for one of the largest losses in the S&P 500 after it said its profit fell more steeply last quarter than analysts expected. The company sells sanitizing and other products to food service companies and other customers, and it was hurt by shutdowns in travel and dining due to the pandemic. It also said, though, that it expects the latest quarter to mark the low point for the company. Still, nearly 45% of the stocks in the S&P 500 were rising. Utility stocks had some of the biggest gains. Health care stocks also held up better than the rest of the market.

(More stock market stories.)

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