Stocks slip as media and healthcare companies fall; banks jump

By Associated Press

May 3, 2017 2 PM PT

U.S. stocks slipped Wednesday as media and healthcare companies fell. The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, but bond yields and banks rose as investors felt rates will increase soon.

First-quarter results for most companies have been good, but stocks were lower all day as a few big-name companies disclosed shaky results.

Media companies tumbled after Time Warner said its cable advertising revenue fell. Apple slipped after iPhone sales came in lower than investors expected, but the stock recovered nearly all its losses.

The Federal Reserve left interest rates where they were, but also said it expects the economy to start growing at a faster pace. That could set the stage for the Fed to boost interest rates in June. Bond yields and interest rates rose after the Fed made its statement. That sent bank stocks higher, narrowing the overall market’s losses. The dollar also got a bit stronger.

Ryan Detrick, senior market strategist for LPL Financial, said he agrees the economy will improve after a sluggish first quarter.

“Earnings have been strong across the board,” he said. “The economy isn’t quite as weak as that GDP [report] makes it look.”

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index slipped 3.04 points, or 0.1%, to 2,388.13. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 8.01 points to 20,957.90. The Nasdaq composite sank 22.82 points, or 0.4%, to 6,072.55. The Russell 2000 index, which tracks smaller companies, declined 8.44 points, or 0.6%, to 1,390.92.

Media companies slumped after Time Warner, the owner of HBO and TBS, said revenue from cable advertising fell in the first quarter. Time Warner has agreed to be bought by AT&T, so its stock hardly budged, but its competitors slumped. Walt Disney fell 2.4% to $111.62, its biggest decline in almost a year. Viacom slid 7.5% to $39.26, and CBS dropped 3.4% to $63.46. Twenty-First Century Fox sank 5.1% to $28.88.

Apple’s first-quarter iPhone sales and projections for the current quarter weren’t quite as good as analysts hoped. Apple stock struggled in late 2015 and for much of 2016 as iPhone sales slowed down and then fell for the first time. But they’ve climbed 27% this year, and the stock closed at an all-time high Tuesday. It was down as much as 2.2% early Wednesday, but finished down just 45 cents at $147.06.

Irish generic drug maker Perrigo said its offices were searched as part of a Justice Department investigation into pricing by generic drug companies, and its stock dropped 5.1% to $72.35. Several other companies have previously disclosed subpoenas connected to that probe, including Mylan and Lannett. Mylan fell 2.6% to $37.19. Lannett had a disappointing quarter as drug pricing remained weak, and its stock dived 18.6% to $22.10.

Biotech drugmaker Gilead Sciences reported disappointing profit and revenue as sales of its hepatitis C drugs Sovaldi and Harvoni plunged in all major markets, and its stock fell 2% to $67.21.

Bond prices turned lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.32% from 2.29%, and bank shares climbed.

U.S. benchmark crude rose 16 cents to $47.82 a barrel, a day after closing at its lowest price since mid-November. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 33 cents to $50.79 a barrel.

Wireless spectrum license company Straight Path Communications soared 23.4% to $155.20. It said it’s received an all-stock offer worth $135.96 a share from an undisclosed buyer. AT&T had agreed to pay $95.63 a share. The company said it told AT&T the new offer is superior, and AT&T will have three days to decide if it wants to raise its offer.

Vehicle parts maker Delphi Automotive surged 10.9% to $87.01 after it said it will spin off its powertrain systems business into a separate publicly traded company. Investors often applaud such transactions, which are tax-free, because they can help fast-growing businesses concentrate on expanding.

Molina Healthcare jumped 7.4% to $64.15 the day after the Long Beach insurer said it had fired its president and chief executive and its chief financial officer. It’s up nearly 29% this week.

Wholesale gasoline rose 2 cents to $1.53 a gallon. Heating oil stayed at $1.47 a gallon. Natural gas rose 3 cents to $3.23 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold fell $8.50 to $1,248.50 an ounce. Silver fell 29 cents to $16.55 an ounce. Copper dropped 9 cents, or 3.5%, to $2.54 a pound.

The dollar rose to 112.64 yen from 112 yen. The euro slid to $1.0906 from $1.0928.

The British FTSE 100 retreated 0.2% and France’s CAC 40 lost 0.1%. The DAX of Germany rose 0.2%. Markets in Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea were closed for a holiday.

UPDATES:

2 p.m.: This article was updated with closing prices, context and analyst comment.

This article was originally published at 6:55 a.m.