Stocks Opened Lower, Eyed on Earnings Reports

U.S. stocks opened firmly lower on Friday, as key earnings reports grabbed investors’ attention. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately dropped 83.14 points, or 0.46%, to 18,079.21. The S&P 500 fell 7.95 points, or 0.37%, to 2,133.39. The Nasdaq Composite gave up 4.61 points, or 0.09%, to 5,237.22.

McDonald’s Corp. (MCD) reported third-quarter results that beat estimates. The company had net income of $1.28 billion, or $1.50 per share, compared with $1.31 billion, or $1.40 per share, for the same period last year. Revenue totaled $6.42 billion, down from $6.62 billion. Global same-restaurant sales increased 3.5%, and same-restaurant sales in the U.S. grew 1.3%.

General Electric Co. posted worse-than-expected revenue growth in its latest quarter, and the industrial giant said it would increase its stock-buyback program by $4 billion after disappointing Wall Street in the first half of the year. Overall for the September quarter, GE reported a profit of $2.03 billion, or 22 cents a share. Revenue rose 4% to $29.27 billion.

Honeywell International Inc. issued the downbeat earnings report it had forecast earlier this month. During the quarter, the industrial conglomerate reported an overall profit of $1.24 billion, down from $1.26 billion. Revenue grew 2% to $9.8 billion as core organic sales fell 3%.