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Stocks fell on Wednesday as volatile trading continued through the start of the earnings season.
The Dow Jones Industrials crumbled 181.73 points to open the midweek session at 25,616.59, as IBM led the decline.
The S&P 500 jettisoned 11.11 points to 2,798.81, with materials and consumer discretionary lagging.
The NASDAQ let go of 29.96 points to 7,615.53, despite strong gains from Netflix.
Netflix shares were up 5.8% after the streaming giant posted third-quarter earnings that easily beat expectations. The big beat was driven by stronger-than-expected subscriber growth in both the U.S. and overseas.
J.P. Morgan said in a note the company is "back on track" following the release of its latest results.
CSX and Cree also reported better-than-expected earnings Tuesday after the close, while M&T Bank and U.S. Bancorp's results topped estimates Wednesday before the bell.
However, IBM reported mixed quarterly results, with earnings topping estimates and revenue missing. The results sent the company's stock down by more than 7%
Overall, the earnings season is off to a good start. Of the S&P 500 companies that have reported thus far, 89.8% have topped analyst expectations
Wednesday's moves come a day after the major indexes posted their best day since March, boosted by strong earnings. On Tuesday, the Dow surged more than 500 points as Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson, and UnitedHealth jumped. Tuesday's jump helped Wall Street recover some of the steep losses from last week. The Dow and S&P 500 fell more than 4% last week, while the NASDAQ lost 3.7%.
On the data front, housing starts fell 5.3% last month, more than expected.
At 2 p.m ET, the Federal Open Market Committee will release the minutes of its meeting held in late September.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury enjoyed slight gains, lowering yields to 3.15% from Tuesday’s 3.16%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid 97 cents at $70.95 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices lost 30 cents to $1,230.70 U.S. an ounce.
