Dow falls for the first time in four sessions amid earnings season

US stocks fell on Wednesday after the latest corporate earnings that fueled existing concerns that some of the most outstanding US companies are struggling amid successive rate hikes and recession concerns.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average snapped three days of gains, last down 80 points, or 0.24%. The Nasdaq Composite retreated 0.7%, and the S&P 500 dropped 0.4%.

Technology stocks considered Microsoft’s results as a guidance. Alphabet fell more than 3%. while Nvidia dipped 2%. Meta Platforms, Apple and Amazon slipped more 1% each. Boeing dipped following a top-and bottom-line miss.

Investors bought stocks heading into the period anticipating better-than-expected prints as companies reset and lowered expectations. But reports so far across sectors have mostly dashed those hopes as many companies share dismal outlooks.

Investors are bracing for more high-profile corporate earnings this week as fears of a recession persist, with Tesla and IBM among the companies slated to post numbers after the bell. So far, more than 19% of S&P 500 companies have reported fourth-quarter earnings, with 68% of them posting stronger-than-expected results.

Wednesday’s moves followed a three-day winning streak for the blue-chip Dow. All three major averages are trading flat, or slightly lower, for the week.

The following stocks are among those making the biggest moves in midday trading:

US Bancorp
Shares gained 5.5% after U.S. Bancorp reported fourth quarter earnings of $1.20, excluding items, versus the $1.12 expected. However, revenue missed estimates.

Sunrun

The stock dropped 8.9% after being downgraded by Barclays to equal weight from overweight. The firm also downgraded SunPower
, down more than 2%, to underweight from equal weight. Barclays cited a potential slowdown in solar demand in for the calls.

Capital One Financial

The stock jumped 7.5%, despite reporting disappointing quarterly results. However, BMO Capital Markets pointed out in a note that Capital One built credit reserves by $1 billion in the fourth quarter, twice that of peers. “We applaud COF for doing what its peers have not so far this earnings season: provision appropriately ahead of a credit cycle,” the firm said.


News Corp rises after abandoning merger plans

Shares of the Wall Street Journal’s parent company, News Corp, rose 5% midday after Rupert Murdoch scrapped his plans to re-combine the company with Fox Corp. Fox Corp added 2.4% during midday trading.