The major averages all finished lower despite top and bottom line beats from both Apple (AAPL) and Facebook (FB) last night that pushed shares of those two tech giants higher. Despite yesterday rate cut, President Trump launched another attack against the Fed, saying the central bank "has called it wrong from the beginning" and adding that "China is not our problem, the Federal Reserve is!" While he said China "is not our problem" worries fueled by a Bloomberg report that claims that Chinese officials are doubtful on the potential to reach a long term trade deal certainly had a hand in today's down day for stocks.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., initial jobless claims bounced 5,000 to 218,000 in the week ended October 26. Personal income rose 0.3% in September, with spending up 0.2%. The Chicago PMI dropped 3.9 points to 43.2 in October, which was weaker than expected.
In China, the manufacturing PMI reading of 49.3 missed the consensus of 49.8 and the non-manufacturing PMI reading of 52.8 was below the 53.6 forecast.
In Europe, an advance Q3 GDP report estimating 0.2% quarter-over-quarter growth was a bit firmer than the 0.1% growth expected. The flash Eurozone CPI reading for October was also a bit firmer at up 1.1% year-over-year compared to the 1.0% growth forecast.
TOP NEWS: Shares of Apple rose 2.3% after the iPhone maker last night delivered upside on both its September quarter results and December quarter outlook. Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty, who raised her price target on Apple shares to $296 from $289, said the company's guidance reflects a positive start to the iPhone 11 cycle and she thinks strength across iPhone, Wearables, and Services are sustainable.
Shares of Facebook were also 1.8% higher after the social media giant's revenue and profit beat expectations in the third quarter. While some on Wall Street raised their targets on the stock and pointed to the bullish signs they saw in the results, others trimmed their targets given that the company's operation expenditure guidance came in higher than expected.
Twitter (TWTR) made headlines last night during rival Facebook's earnings call as the microblog operator's CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted that the company has made the decision to stop all political advertising on Twitter globally, adding that "political message reach should be earned, not bought."
Altria Group (MO) reported better than expected third quarter revenue and profit and affirmed its 2019 adjusted EPS outlook, but the bigger headline from its quarterly update regards Juul, the e-cigarette maker in which the traditional tobacco giant had invested. Altria recorded a Q3 non-cash pre-tax impairment charge of $4.5B related to its investment in Juul, citing the company's view of increased odds of U.S. FDA action to remove flavored e-vapor products from the market, various e-vapor bans put in place by certain cities and states in the U.S. and in certain international markets, and other factors.
In M&A news, Peugeot S.A. (PUGOY) and Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) announced that their respective boards have each unanimously agreed to work towards a full combination of the businesses by way of a 50/50 merger, as foreshadowed by media reports yesterday.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that Google (GOOGL) is protesting Texas' ability to disclose sensitive data to consultants who have worked for competitors and companies such as News Corp. (NWSA) and Microsoft (MSFT) that have complained about the search giant to regulators after the Texas attorney general's office, which is spearheading an antitrust probe of Google, hired two consultants that have worked for the company's adversaries.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Agile Therapeutics (AGRX), which skyrocketed 223.8% to $1.20 per share after announcing an FDA advisory committee voted 14 to 1, with 1 abstention, that the benefits of Twirla in the prevention of pregnancy outweigh the risks to support approval. Also higher were Universal Display (OLED), Kraft Heinz (KHC), and Moelis (MC), which gained a respective 15.3%, 13.4%, and 11.9% after reporting quarterly results.
Among the notable losers was Twilio (TWLO), which slid 10.3% after reporting quarterly results and lowering its earnings and revenue guidance for fiscal 2019. Also lower after reporting quarterly results were Etsy (ETSY), Terex (TEX), and AK Steel (AKS), which fell 15.7%, 4.6%, and 11.6%, respectively.
INDEXES: The Dow fell 140.46, or 0.52%, to 27,046.23, the Nasdaq lost 11.62, or 0.14%, to 8,292.36, and the S&P 500 declined 9.21, or 0.30%, to 3,037.56.
Apple
+5.5 (+2.26%)
Ticker changed to META
+3.45 (+1.83%)
+0.11 (+0.37%)
Altria Group
-1.18 (-2.57%)
Ticker changed to STLA
+ (+0.00%)
Ticker changed to STLA
+0.33 (+2.20%)
Alphabet
-3.02 (-0.24%)
Alphabet
-1.3 (-0.10%)
News Corp.
+0.12 (+0.86%)
News Corp.
+0.09 (+0.66%)
Microsoft
-1.18 (-0.82%)
Agile Therapeutics
+0.8174 (+219.38%)
Kraft Heinz
+3.84 (+13.47%)
Universal Display
+26.27 (+15.09%)
Moelis
+3.81 (+11.95%)
Twilio
-11.115 (-10.32%)
Etsy
-8.32 (-15.77%)
Terex
-1.31 (-4.53%)
AKS
+