U.S. Stocks Slip; Ebay, Unitedhealth Disappoint

U.S. stocks fell for a second consecutive session Thursday as the busiest day yet for first-quarter earnings yielded disappointments from online auctioneer eBay Inc. and insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc.

The S&P 500 index lost 10.40 points, or 0.7%, to 1,541.61, with technology pacing losses and telecommunications faring best of its 10 major sectors.

Looking at the 83 S&P 500 companies that have reported so far, there is ”positive growth, but the rate of year-over-year quarterly earnings growth has decelerated, so it’s creating a little bit of a growth scare. I think it’s going to prove temporary,” said Nick Raich, CEO at The Earnings Scout.

“It seems we have a seasonal, or cyclical, soft patch between the first and second quarters. I’m a little cautious because of the emerging markets and commodities prices,” said Raich.

If those fall too far or too fast, what is now viewed as a temporary lull could prove longer lasting, he added.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 81.45 points, or 0.6%, to 14,537.14, with UnitedHealth Group leading declines that included 23 of its 30 components.

UnitedHealth said first-quarter earnings fell 14% as higher medical bills continued to outpace increased revenue. Shares fell 3.8%.

Verizon Communications Inc. rose 2.8% as an increase in wireless customers had it topping profit estimates.

The Nasdaq Composite shed 38.31 points, or 1.2%, to end at 3,166.36, its lowest level since the end of February.

Shares of Apple Inc. fell for a second session, below $400 each, continuing a drop sparked by results from Apple supplier Cirrus Logic Inc. , which this week forecast fiscal first-quarter revenue below estimates, with the audio-chip manufacturer’s reported inventory glut suggesting a saturated smartphone market.

EBay retreated 5.9% after reporting revenue below expectations.

Economic news also weighed on sentiment. U.S. leading indicators fell in March for the first time in seven months, with the Conference Board’s measure of what’s ahead down 0.1% after rising 0.5% for each of the first two months of the year.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s manufacturing index decreased in April to 1.3 from 2 the month before.

Stock-index futures had maintained gains after the Labor Department reported the number of Americans filing claims for jobless benefits held little changed last week, rising by 4,000 to 352,000.

After a bit of volatility in the weekly count of those filing for unemployment benefits, “claims are back to a more normalized level,” said Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist at BTIG LLC in New York.

“We haven’t yet seen the effects of the sequester, which may be because there are no effects, or that the effects are delayed,” he said of the $85 billion in automatic cuts in government spending that began March 1.

“While there are other things to worry about, at the end of the day, earnings will decide whether we go higher or lower,” he added.

For every stock rising four fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where 798 million shares traded. Composite volume approached 3.9 billion.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude futures rose $1.05 to $87.73 a barrel and gold rose $9.80 to $1,392 an ounce.

The U.S. dollar fell against other currencies, including the euro . Treasury prices rose, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note falling to 1.691%.

U.S. stocks posted sharp losses Wednesday, spooked by disappointing corporate results and worries over Apple Inc. after one of the consumer-technology company’s suppliers offered a weak first-quarter outlook. Apple shares on Wednesday slumped below the $400 level for the first time since September 2011, ending the day down 5.5% at $402.80.

Morgan Stanley swung to a first-quarter profit, benefiting from a comparison with a year-earlier period that was affected by a heavy charge related to debt. The bank’s shares dropped 5.4% as revenue came in below forecasts.

Food-and-beverage firm PepsiCo Inc. said first-quarter earnings fell 4.6% as restructuring and other charges masked stronger-than-expected growth.

Flash-memory maker SanDisk Corp. gained after beating first-quarter expectations.

Philip Morris International Inc. on Thursday said first-quarter profit fell 1.7% as cigarette shipments dropped 6.5%.

Marketwatch