Stocks Slumped on Weak Profit Expectations

U.S. stocks ended modestly lower on Tuesday, as skittish investors await a batch of corporate earnings and economic reports to gauge the health of the U.S. economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 49.97 points, or 0.29%, to 17,081.89. The S&P 500 was off 13.77 points, or 0.68%, to 2,003.69. The Nasdaq Composite shed 42.03 points, or 0.87%, to 4,796.61.

Intel Corp reported a 6.3 percent fall in quarterly profit on Tuesday, weighed down by continued weak demand for chips used in personal computers. The company’s net income fell to $3.11 billion, or 64 cents per share, for the third quarter ended Sept. 26, from $3.32 billion, or 66 cents per share, a year earlier.

JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), the biggest U.S. bank by assets, reported a 22.3 percent rise in quarterly profit as lower costs and a smaller provision for credit losses made up for weaker trading revenue. JPMorgan said its net income rose to $6.80 billion from $5.57 billion in the year-earlier period. On a per share basis, the bank earned $1.68 in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, up from $1.35, a year earlier.