Stocks Decline, Amazon Hit after Results

U.S. stocks opened lower on Friday, weighed down by disappointing earnings from companies such as Amazon.com. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately lost 116.29 points, or 0.68%, to 16,967.51. The S&P 500 lost 7.45 points, or 0.37%, to 1,980.53. The Nasdaq Composite fell 24.91 points, or 0.56%, to 4,447.20.

Amazon.com posted a loss of 27 cents per share in the April-to-June period, nearly double Wall Street’s average estimate for a loss of 15 cents. Amazon reported a net loss of $126 million, in the second quarter, compared to a loss of $7 million, a year earlier. Total operating expenses rose 24 percent to $19.36 billion. Revenue climbed 23 percent to $19.34 billion.

Xerox Corp. said its second-quarter earnings slipped as revenue from the company’s document- technology business continued to decline. Xerox reported a profit of $266 million, down from $271 million for the year-ago period. Per-share earnings rose to 22 cents from 21 cents, as the year-ago period. Revenue fell 1.8% to $5.29 billion. Analysts had expected $5.31 billion.

Stanley Black & Decker Inc. said its second-quarter profit rose 16%, as the company managed to slightly increase sales while trimming costs. The company posted earnings of $216.5 million, or $1.36 a share, up from $187.1 million, or $1.18 a share, in the prior-year period. Sales edged up about 1% to $2.89 billion.