Stocks – S&P off Lows, but Weaker Earnings, Virus Jitters Bite

By Yasin Ebrahim

Investing.com – The S&P moved off session lows midday Thursday, but remained in the red following weaker earnings and a slump in energy stocks.

The fell 0.21%. The fell 0.3% and the was down 0.1%.

Energy stocks were pushed lower on a slump in oil prices as data showed a lower-than-expected draw in U.S. weekly crude supplies, while reports of increased fatalities in China from the coronavirus exacerbated concerns about oil demand.

“If the epidemic spreads and we start to see the flight cancellations spread to other countries and airports in Asia, it would certainly have a significant hit on jet fuel demand and therefore crude oil,” Schork Report Editor Stephen Schork said and highlighted the impact on oil from previous epidemics like the Avian Flu virus in 1997 and the Sars in 2003.

A mostly weaker raft of earnings, meanwhile, did little to reverse sentiment on stocks.

Procter & Game slipped nearly 2% after its quarterly results missed estimates on the bottom line, while Comcast (NASDAQ:) fell 3% despite reporting better-than-expected earnings.

For airlines, Southwest Airlines (NYSE:) and American Airlines (NASDAQ:) shrugged off mixed quarterly reports, rising about 2% and 1% respectively.

In tech, meanwhile, chip stocks were roughly flat after industry bellwether Texas Instruments’ (NASDAQ:)’ better-than-expected quarterly earnings a day earlier. Chip stocks will remain in focus as Intel (NASDAQ:) readies its quarterly earnings after the bell.

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