Updates with post on market close
All three major U.S. stock indexes red; Nasdaq leads losses, down ~0.9%
Industrials falls most among S&P sectors; energy is biggest gainer
Gold off ~0.5%, bitcoin slides 2.9%, dollar edges down, crude settled up >2%
US 10-year Treasury yields down to ~3.95%
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WALL STREET INDEXES SLIP WITH EARNINGS WEIGHING
Wall Street's major indexes fell on Wednesday and Nasdaq .IXIC led losses with a 0.9% drop as investors braced for upcoming earnings releases after disappointment from companies including Netflix NFLX.O and Texas Instruments TXN.O.
Netflix shares tumbled 10% after it missed Wall Street's third-quarter earnings targets because of an unexpected expense from a Brazilian tax dispute. While its forecast for the rest of the year was a touch ahead of Wall Street projections, it failed to impress investors accustomed to fast-paced growth from the streaming video pioneer.
Shares of Texas Instruments TXN.O dropped 5.6% after it forecast fourth-quarter revenue and profit below Wall Street estimates late on Tuesday, stoking fears of a long road ahead for a recovery in the analog chip market due to murky tariff rules for the semiconductor industry.
The broader chip sector appeared to sell off in sympathy with only one stock rising in the Philadelphia semiconductor index .SOX, which finished the session down 2.4%.
Separate from earnings, Apple AAPL.O shares fell 1.6%, providing the S&P 500 with its biggest drag from a single stock, as it dealt with regulatory issues in Europe. Britain moved to loosen the iPhone maker's grip on the smartphone market along with Alphabet's Google GOOGL.O by designating them as having "strategic market status", giving it the power to demand specific changes to boost competition. On the same day, Apple was hit with a complaint to EU antitrust regulators by two civil rights groups over the terms and conditions of its App Store and devices for allegedly breaching landmark rules aimed at reining in Big Tech.
Shares in Tesla TSLA.O closed down 0.8% as investors were waiting anxiously for its quarterly update as it kicked off third-quarter reports from the so-called "Magnificent Seven" group of momentum stocks.
Also causing some trader jitters during the session was a Reuters report, citing a U.S. official and three people briefed by U.S. authorities, that the Trump administration is considering a plan to curb a dizzying array of software-powered exports to China, from laptops to jet engines, to retaliate against Beijing's latest round of rare earth export restrictions.
Among the S&P 500's 11 major industry sectors the biggest gainer was energy .SPNY, which rose 1.3%, as oil futures climbed. The biggest percentage loser was industrials .SPLRCI, which dropped 1.3%. And industrials' biggest laggard was Lennox LII.N, which finished down 10.2% after climate control product company cut its full year profit forecast.
Here is your closing snapshot:
(Sinéad Carew)
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EARLIER ON LIVE MARKETS:
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UK IPO PROCEEDS HALVE IN Q3 BUT OCTOBER PIPELINE OFFERS RAY OF HOPE CLICK HERE
HOME ALONE: MBA'S SOLO ACT SHOWS LOWER BORROWING COSTS SPARKING REFI DEMAND CLICK HERE
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AI IS RAISING HOUSEHOLD ENERGY BILLS - BOFA CLICK HERE
COULD BOE'S NEXT MOVE BE A RATE HIKE? CLICK HERE
WHY US TARIFFS DO NOT SEEM TO HURT CHINA CLICK HERE
SOFTWARE STOCKS: "GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT" CLICK HERE
MINERS' BOUNCE HELPS LONDON, TECH AND LUXURY SLIDE CLICK HERE
BEFORE THE BELL: MIXED START, L'OREAL MISSES, BARCLAYS UPBEAT CLICK HERE
INFLATION WILL WIPE AWAY UK'S RATE-CUT BETS CLICK HERE
Wall Street finishes lower https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/akpexdxaqvr/Pasted%20image%201761163909245.png