Stocks slip, ending a 3-day win streak; bank shares slump

A three-day winning streak for U.S. stocks ended quietly Thursday. A decline in bond yields sent bank stocks lower, while utilities and phone companies moved higher.

Stocks traded lower all day as investors took some profits. Banks took the biggest losses, followed by metals companies. With bond yields down, investors snapped up phone and utility company shares. Household goods makers turned higher late in the day, but that wasn’t enough to cancel out losses elsewhere.

“There’s just a little lack of confidence in the market,” said Steve Quirk, executive vice president of trading for TD Ameritrade. “When you’re sitting near 11-month highs and there is uncertainty, people are going to be cautious.”

The Dow Jones industrial average slid 19.86 points, or 0.1%, to 17,985.19. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index declined 3.64 points, or 0.2%, to 2,115.48. The Nasdaq composite fell 16.03 points, or 0.3%, to 4,958.62.

Stocks are still up for the week. Over the past few days, the S&P 500 has reached its highest levels since July. Oil prices have done the same.

Bond prices rose, sending the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note down to 1.68% from 1.70% the previous day. Lower bond yields drive down interest rates on mortgages and other kinds of loans, making them less profitable for banks.

Mortgage agency Freddie Mac reported that mortgage rates fell this week after three weeks of increases. Freddie Mac said the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage slipped to 3.60% from 3.66% last week. A year ago, the rate was 4.04%.

Bank of America went down 1.7% to $14.19, and Capital One fell 1.7% to $70.87.

Mining and chemicals companies also weakened. Copper and gold producer Freeport-McMoRan fell 5.9% to $10.90, and Eastman Chemical fell 2.5% to $71.78.

Utilities and phone company stocks made modest gains, as bond yields fell. Those stocks are seen as similar to bonds because they pay large dividends, so low bond yields make them more appealing by comparison. Ameren advanced 2.4% to $50.89, and PG&E climbed 1.6% to $62.98. AT&T edged up 23 cents to $40.09.

Jam and spreads-maker J.M. Smucker climbed 7.9%, to $143.23 after it reported strong fourth-quarter sales of coffee products and pet foods. The company also gave an optimistic profit forecast for the current fiscal year.

Other consumer goods makers followed Smucker’s lead late in the day. Tyson Foods rose 2.5% to $61.28, and Kellogg picked up 2.1% to $77.69.

U.S. crude shed 67 cents, or 1.3%, to $50.56 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the benchmark for international oil prices, fell 56 cents, or 1.1%, to $51.95 a barrel in London.

Other companies tumbled after their earnings disappointed investors. Home furnishings retailer Restoration Hardware cut its forecast for the year after it reported weak quarterly results. The Corte Madera, Calif., company said it’s facing weaker sales of luxury goods. Its stock dived 21.2% to $28.41.

Menswear chain Tailored Brands disclosed weak first-quarter results as its Men’s Wearhouse brand struggled. The stock tumbled $3.19, or 20.5%, to $12.34.

Airlines traded higher as oil prices dropped, which could reduce their fuel costs. American Airlines rose 2.7% to $33.40, and United Continental advanced 2.2% to $46.70.

Gold rose $10.40, or 0.8%, to $1,272.70 an ounce. Silver advanced 28 cents to $17.27 an ounce. Copper fell 2 cents to $2.04 a pound.

In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline was unchanged at $1.62 a gallon. Heating oil fell 2 cents to $1.55 a gallon. Natural gas jumped 15 cents to $2.62 per 1,000 cubic feet.

European stock indexes skidded after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi warned that national governments need to make more reforms to get the regional economy going. Draghi said the central bank can’t heal the economy on its own. Germany’s DAX fell 1.3%, Britain’s FTSE 100 slid 1.1% and France’s CAC 40 lost 1%.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 shed 1% after the Japanese government reported that domestic and foreign private machinery orders fell in April from the month before, which suggests capital investment remains weak. South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.1%.

The dollar fell to 106.75 yen from 106.94 yen. The euro dropped to $1.1327 from $1.1397.

UPDATES:

2:02 p.m.: This article was updated with additional information.

1:27 p.m.: This article was updated with closing prices.

10:28 a.m.: This article was updated with more recent prices and additional information.

This article was originally published at 7:07 a.m.