The major averages had a down trading session, with the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 all slipping. A continued stalemate on additional U.S. stimulus remains a headwind, while COVID-19 treatment optimism faced a setback following news from J&J and Eli Lilly regarding pauses of their studies of vaccines and antibody therapeutics.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the headline and core Consumer Price Index rose 0.2% in September, as expected.
In Capitol Hill news, CNBC reported that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that the GOP-led Senate will vote on a COVID-19 stimulus bill this month. McConnell said that the Senate would take up such legislation after the full chamber returns on October 19, calling the plan "targeted relief for American workers, including new funding" for Paycheck Protection Program small business loans.
TOP NEWS: Shares of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) finished 2.3% lower after the company said last night that it has temporarily paused further dosing in all its COVID-19 vaccine candidate clinical trials, including the Phase 3 ENSEMBLE trial, due to an unexplained illness in a study participant. The COVID news largely overshadowed the company's earnings and revenue beat in the third quarter, which it said was "powered by better-than-expected procedure recovery in Medical Devices, growth in Consumer Health, and continued strength in Pharmaceuticals."
In other COVID-19 news, Eli Lilly (LLY) shares fell 2.9% after the New York Times reported that the company has paused its COVID-19 antibody trial due to safety concerns. Molly McCully, a spokeswoman for Eli Lilly, confirmed the pause, stating: "Safety is of the upmost importance to Lilly. Lilly is supportive of the decision by the independent D.S.M.B. to cautiously ensure the safety of the patients participating in this study."
Meanwhile, earnings season also began for the big banks, with JPMorgan (JPM) and Citi (C) each reporting better than expected headline earnings. Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan's Chairman and CEO, noted that the bank "maintained our credit reserves at $34 billion given significant economic uncertainty and a broad range of potential outcomes." Meanwhile, Citi CEO Michael Corbat said his bank continues to "navigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic extremely well."
In other earnings news, Delta (DAL) fell 2.7% after the airline reported worse than expected losses and lower than expected adjusted revenue for the third quarter. Glen Hauenstein, Delta's president, said: "While it may be two years or more until we see a normalized revenue environment, by restoring customer confidence in travel and building customer loyalty now, we are creating the foundation for sustainable future revenue growth."
Disney (DIS) shares jumped 3.2% after the company announced a strategic reorganization of its media and entertainment businesses to focus on developing and producing original content for the company's streaming services.
Shares of Apple (AAPL) were in focus after the tech giant made a series of product announcements during a special online event. While the company began the event by introducing the HomePod Mini smart speaker, the main focus was on a new series of iPhone handsets, with the company unveiling the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max, all with 5G.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Ethan Allen (ETH), which rose 13.2% after guiding Q1 above expectations. Also higher was BlackRock (BLK), which gained 3.8% after reporting quarterly results.
Among the notable losers was Loop Industries (LOOP), which fell 32.6% after Hindenburg Research published a short report, stating it sees "100% downside" for the stock. Also lower was Fastenal (FAST), which declined 4.8% after reporting quarterly results.
INDEXES: The Dow fell 157.71, or 0.55%, to 28,679.81, the Nasdaq lost 12.36, or 0.10%, to 11,863.90, and the S&P 500 declined 22.29, or 0.63%, to 3,511.93.
Johnson & Johnson
-3.605 (-2.37%)
Eli Lilly
-4.42 (-2.86%)
JPMorgan
-1.77 (-1.73%)
Citi
-2.25 (-4.90%)
Delta Air Lines
-0.86 (-2.63%)
Disney
+3.99 (+3.19%)
Apple
-3.25 (-2.61%)
Ethan Allen
+2.09 (+13.36%)
BlackRock
+23.44 (+3.81%)
Loop Industries
-3.77 (-32.50%)
Fastenal
-2.28 (-4.78%)