NEW YORK, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended lower on Thursday, as weakness in major tech stocks weighed on the market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 68.42 points, or 0.16 percent, to 43,153.13. The S&P 500 sank 12.57 points, or 0.21 percent, to 5,937.34. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 172.94 points, or 0.89 percent, to 19,338.29.
Eight of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with utilities and real estate leading the gainers by going up 2.58 percent and 2.23 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, technology and communication services led the laggards by dropping 1.30 percent and 0.95 percent, respectively.
Apple led the declines, tumbling 4.04 percent in its worst session since Aug. 5, while Tesla fell 3.36 percent. Nvidia and Alphabet also slipped, losing around 2 percent and 1 percent, respectively.
Despite strong corporate earnings boosting sentiment earlier in the session, the major indexes surrendered their gains. Morgan Stanley topped earnings expectations, lifting its stock 3.9 percent, while Bank of America also beat bottom-line estimates, though its shares dipped about 1 percent. These results followed solid performances from peers like JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, which reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday.
The earnings season has started on a strong note overall, with 77 percent of companies reporting so far exceeding analyst estimates, according to FactSet. However, the pullback in heavyweight tech stocks overshadowed the positive earnings momentum, tempering optimism across the broader market.
"So there's some heaviness and almost even exhaustion to this market, as we all try to give this bull market another leg to go and see what fuels the next upside moment," said Keith Buchanan, senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments. "Earnings have started out with the banks being definitely a positive, but it seems there's going to have to be more than that, and that's what today's action seems like," Buchanan added.
The stock market saw a brief uptick Thursday morning as bond yields eased following dovish remarks from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller. "As long as the data comes in good on inflation or continues on that path, then I can certainly see rate cuts happening sooner than maybe the markets are pricing in," Waller said. ■