Stocks Opened Lower As Earnings Disappointed

U.S. stocks opened lower on Wednesday, as disappointing earnings reports by companies like Walt Disney Co., Macy’s Inc. and Staples Inc. weighed on the broader market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately lost 95.37 points, or 0.53%, to 17,832.98. The S&P 500 was down 8.15 points, or 0.39%, to 2,076.24. The Nasdaq Composite fell 11.91 points, or 0.25%, to 4,797.97.

Walt Disney Co. whiffed with its quarterly results. For the period ended April 2, Disney reported a profit $2.14 billion, or $1.30 a share, up from $2.11 billion, or $1.23 a share, a year earlier. Revenue increased 4.1% to $12.97 billion.

Department store operator Macy’s Inc reported a 7.4 percent fall in first-quarter sales, the fifth straight quarter of decline, as customers cut back on buying apparel and a strong dollar discourages tourists from spending heavily. Net income attributable to Macy’s fell to $116 million, or 37 cents per share, in the quarter ended April 30 from $193 million, or 56 cents per share, a year earlier. The company’s net sales fell to $5.77 billion from $6.23 billion.

Staples’ $6.3 billion acquisition of its largest rival ended unsuccessfully Tuesday, after a judge agreed to the Federal Trade Commission’s request for a preliminary injunction on antitrust grounds. The same result occurred when Office Depot and Staples sought to combine in 1997.

The U.S. Postal Service reported a fiscal second-quarter loss of $2 billion, primarily due to costs it said were out of its control. The post office said “controllable” earnings for the three months ending March 31 jumped 84% to $576 million from $313 million in the same period a year ago. Revenue grew 4.7% to $17.7 billion.

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