US open: Stocks fall at the bell as rising crude, tech declines hit sentiment

(Sharecast News) - Major indices were in the red early on Thursday as rising oil prices and a heavy earnings slate kept risk appetite subdued. As of 1445 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.27% at 52,714.87, while the S&P 500 shed 0.86% to 7,690.42 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 1.51% weaker at 26,299.00.

The Dow opened 141.22 points lower on Thursday, taking a bite out of gains recorded in the previous session as chip and AI shares were bolstered by strong quarterly results and M&A speculation from SpaceX.

Meta was down 6.7% in early action despite posting a quarterly revenue beat and issuing strong guidance for the current quarter, while Tesla fell 1.75% even as it delivered better‑than‑expected third‑quarter earnings on both the top and bottom line.

As far as Thursday's earnings go, Lockheed Martin posted a solid set of third‑quarter numbers, with sales rising to $20.7bn from $18.6bn a year earlier and net earnings improving to $1.8bn, or $7.97 per share. The defence giant also reported a sharp 27% jump in backlog since Q2, setting a new record at $292bn.

Elsewhere, Spotify delivered strong third‑quarter growth, adding six million premium subscribers to reach 306m and boosting ad‑supported monthly active users by eleven million to 788m. Revenues climbed 16% to €4.97bn, driven by steady premium momentum and healthier ad‑supported performance, with the streaming giant saying it had met all key targets for the period.

Union Pacific posted a strong third quarter performance, with profits rising to $2.08bn from $1.79bn a year earlier and operating revenues climbing 15% to $7.2bn on continued volume growth, while Comcast also beat earnings expectations, delivering $1.07 per share versus the $0.98 consensus, although quarterly revenues slipped to $29.3bn from $31.2bn a year earlier.

Still to come, Western Digital will deliver its latest quarterly earnings after the close.

Energy prices were also weighing on sentiment, with Brent crude futures were up 3.26% at $112.37 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate futures were 2.78% higher at $99.85 per barrel.

On the macro front, Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at a decelerated pace in the week ended 17 October, according to the Labor Department. Initial claims fell by 6,000 to 194,000, after the prior week was upwardly revised by 1,000, while the four‑week moving average decreased by 1,000 to 197,750 from the prior week's downward revision. Continuing claims increased by 25,000, with the number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits rising to to 1.72m in the week ended 10 October, while the previous reading was down by 7,000 from 1.71m. The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate held steady at 1.1%, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate.









Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $165.46 5.81% Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $30.11 2.27% Apple Inc. (AAPL) $345.98 1.84% Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $246.32 1.50% Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $93.75 1.22% Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $259.60 1.06% Chevron Corp. (CVX) $228.31 1.00% McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $247.64 0.76% Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $44.31 0.75% Home Depot Inc. (HD) $316.04 0.54%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $88.21 -3.98% International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $246.90 -3.84% Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $715.00 -3.18% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $896.46 -1.64% Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $105.84 -1.55% JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $334.21 -0.43% Nike Inc. (NKE) $37.38 -0.35% Boeing Co. (BA) $192.33 -0.26% Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $150.15 -0.14% Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $112.01 -0.09%

S&P 500 - Risers

Nasdaq Inc (NDAQ) $99.92 6.66% Allegion (ALLE) $171.04 6.28% Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $164.93 5.81% Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) $599.08 5.20% CSX Corp. (CSX) $51.37 4.91% Fortinet Inc. (FTNT) $175.78 4.85% Ipg Photonics Corp. (IPGP) $70.74 4.27% United Rentals Inc. (URI) $1,074.73 4.03% CME Group Inc. (CME) $301.85 3.84% Kohls Corp. (KSS) $23.10 3.75%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $234.32 -11.41% Snap On Inc. (SNA) $340.94 -9.48% Coterra Energy Inc. (CTRA) $32.56 -8.62% Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $30.12 -7.88% Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $382.26 -6.36% Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $38.25 -6.31% Corning Inc. (GLW) $127.83 -6.25% Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $285.16 -6.00% KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $153.33 -5.97% Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $440.14 -4.46%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $146.75 7.35% CSX Corp. (CSX) $51.37 4.91% Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $196.85 3.22% DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $9.16 3.14% Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $280.03 3.08% Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $222.07 3.00% Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $22.58 2.18% Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $523.29 1.89% Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $615.35 1.85% Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $114.56 1.85%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $0.34 -13.49% Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $234.32 -11.41% Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $382.26 -6.36% Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $285.16 -6.00% KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $153.33 -5.97% NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $117.43 -5.13% Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $440.14 -4.46% Intel Corp. (INTC) $88.14 -3.98% Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $654.58 -3.42% Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $74.87 -3.32%