Stocks Ended Lower on Weak Earnings

U.S. stocks dropped on Thursday after disappointed earnings and fresh concerns about global trade tensions sapped investors enthusiasm. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 134.79 points, or 0.53%, to 25,064.50. The S&P 500 lost 11.13 points, or 0.40%, to 2,804.49. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 29.15 points, or 0.37$, to 7,825.30.

Oil futures saw mixed trading on Thursday, with U.S. benchmark crude ending higher on the heels of news that Saudi Arabia’s OPEC governor expects the kingdom’s crude exports to fall next month in an effort to avoid oversupplying the market. August West Texas Intermediate crude rose 70 cents, or 1%, to settle at $69.46 a barrel. Global benchmark September Brent crude declined by 32 cents, or 0.4%, to $72.58 a barrel.

Skechers USA Inc. (SKX) reported second-quarter earnings that missed Wall Street expectations and a third-quarter outlook that also came below marks. Skechers said it earned $45.3 million, or 29 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with $59.5 million, or 38 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Sales rose to $1.13 billion, from $1.03 billion a year ago.

Microsoft (MSFT) announced its Q4 2018 earnings on Thursday and it beat analysts projects. The Windows maker posted earnings of $1.14 per share on $30.1 billion of revenue. Analysts predicted earnings of $1.08 per share on $29.22 billion in revenue. Revenue came in at $23.3 billion in the same quarter a year ago.