A disappointing Commerce Department report showing a decline in U.S. GDP combined with an afternoon announcement by the Fed to leave interest rates unchanged overtook the day’s corporate news and earnings reports. By the end of the day, markets were down broadly.
After nearing record highs over the past two days, the S&P 500 tumbled 0.39% to 1,501.96, while the Nasdaq finished off 0.36% at 3,142.31 and the Dow lost 0.32% to close at 13,910.42.
Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) also watched its shares crumble after unveiling its BlackBerry 10 and announced it’s changing the company name to … well … BlackBerry, trading under the ticker BBRY. Investors weren’t impressed by either and shares lost over 12%.
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) shares traded up over 1% on the day in anticipation of its Q4 results due after the bell, but shares dropped over 1% after hours. The fall came despite the fact that the company posted better-than-estimated fourth-quarter earnings of 17 cents per share and revenue of $1.59 billion. You can see full the FB report here.
Meanwhile shares of Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) traded up almost 5% after announcing stronger revenues in its latest quarter and the hiring of 1,000 people for new fulfillment centers in three Texas cities.
In other corporate earnings news, Boeing (NYSE:BA),which has been bedeviled with problems in its idled 787 Dreamliner fleet, topped Q4 earnings forecasts. That, coupled with some good news on the battery problem, moved its shares higher by just over 1% on the day, making it the biggest gainer in the Dow.
Oil producer Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) shares also rose over 1% despite a weak quarter as the company raised its dividend and authorized an increase to the dividend buyback program.
Earnings notable for Thursday include Aetna (NYSE:AET), Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL), and Mastercard (NYSE:MA).
Three Up
- Unisys (NYSE:UIS): Up 14.96% ($2.83) to $21.75
- Isis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ISIS): Up 9.79% ($1.31) to $14.69
- Green Mountain Coffee (NASDAQ:GMCR): Up 2.96% ($1.28) to $44.56
Three Down
- Hawaiian Holdings (NYSE:HA): Down 13.00% (85 cents) to $5.69
- Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU): Up 6.36% ($1.69) to $24.87
- JDS Uniphase (NASDAQ:JDSU): Down 5.05% (66 cents) to $12.40
Marc Bastow is an Assistant Editor at InvestorPlace.com. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
