U.S. stocks traded lower midday Thursday as investors digested existing home sales and jobless claims data, and weaker-than-expected quarterly profit at Tesla (TSLA) weighed on electric-vehicle stocks.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 0.46% just after noon ET on Thursday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) dropped nearly 92 points, or 0.27%. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) fell 0.42%.
Tesla stock was down more than 9% after the company reported first-quarter earnings on Wednesday that fell short of Wall Street’s expectations. Tesla’s recent price cuts weighed on profits as the electric-vehicle maker reported quarterly gross margins of 19.3%, while Wall Street analysts had expected 20.7%.
Shares of traditional automakers making the push into EVs followed Tesla lower with both Ford (F) and General Motors (GM) falling roughly 4%. EV focused companies, Rivian (RIVN) and NIO (NIO) also saw declines as Rivian shares fell roughly 4%.
AT&T (T) was the biggest loser in the S&P 500 in intraday trading, with shares falling 10% after the company reported revenue down 20% compared to the same period a year prior.
Shares of IBM (IBM) gave back gains, and traded near the flatline as the company reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.36 against a Street estimate of $1.25 after the close on Wednesday.
American Express (AXP) shares fell nearly 3% as the company’s missed Wall Street estimates for earnings per share. Though, American Express CEO Stephen Squeri told Yahoo Finance that nothing in the quarter “went really unexpected.”
In casinos, Las Vegas Sands projected a positive tone for the industry with Macao revenue nearly tripling from the same period a year prior. Las Vegas Sands stock popped more than 6% as the casino operator reported quarterly Macao revenue over $1 billion for the first time since 2019. MGM Resorts International (MGM) and Wynn Resorts (WYNN) stock also jumped on the news.
Oil futures traded lower on Thursday with West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) and Brent (BZ=F) falling more than 2%. Brent Crude has now traded lower in three of the last four trading sessions, with prices dropping below $81 a barrel.
Economic data also came into focus Thursday as weekly jobless claims came in higher than expected. The report said 245,000 jobless claims were filed. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had been expecting 240,000 claims. Meanwhile, existing home sales retreated 2.4% in March from the month prior. The annualized rate of 4.44 million fell short of the 4.5 million expected by economists, according to Bloomberg data.
The major averages closed Wednesday largely flat as investors digested corporate earnings from Netflix (NFLX) and Morgan Stanley (MS), among other companies. The Federal Reserve’s most recent Beige Book report showed credit conditions tightened in the month following Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse.
Josh is a reporter for Yahoo Finance.
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