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The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped on Thursday as a sharp decline in 3M shares dragged the 30-stock index.
The Dow lost 203.5 points to 26,393.55, of 3M dropped 10.3% after the company reported earnings that were much lower than analysts had expected. The company also slashed its full-year outlook and announced plans to cut 2,000 jobs worldwide.
The S&P 500 slid 2.41 points to 2,924.84, as the industrials sector was dragged down by 3M. A 4.2% drop in Altria shares also weighed on the 500 as the consumer staples sector fell 0.9%.
The NASDAQ Composite gained 32.99 to 8,135.01, and hit an all-time high, getting a boost from strong quarterly reports out of Facebook and Microsoft.
Facebook shares rose more than 8% after its first-quarter numbers showed promising growth in Stories and ads.
The analyst also raised his price target on Facebook to $220 per share from $200.
Microsoft, meanwhile, climbed more than 4% as its better-than-expected earnings were driven by a 41% surge in its commercial cloud revenue business. That growth was led by Azure, which saw sales skyrocket by 73%.
More than 170 S&P 500 companies have reported quarterly results so far. Of those companies, 78% have posted better-than-expected earnings.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury were marginally down, raising yields to 2.53% from Wednesday’s 2.52%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recovered five cents to $65.94 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $3.60 to $1,283.00 U.S. an ounce.
