Stocks Opened Lower as Earnings Disappointed

U.S. stocks opened lower on Thursday, as disappointing earnings compounded with lingering global concerns as China worked to contain a potentially deadly disease that has so far sickened hundreds. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 187.10 points, or 0.64%, to 28,999.17. The S&P 500 was down 16.59 points, or 0.50%, to 3,305.16. The Nasdaq Composite declined 37.23 points, or 0.40%, to 9,346.54.

Oil futures tumbled to the lowest level in weeks on Thursday, amid increasing fears over a demand hit from the coronavirus outbreak in China. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery fell 91 cents, or 1.6%, to $55.85 a barrel. March Brent crude lost 88 cents, or 1.4%, to $62.33 a barrel.

Consumer giant Procter & Gamble (PG) posted disappointing organic sales results for its fiscal second quarter. Net income increased to $3.72 billion, or $1.41 a share, from $3.19 billion, or $1.22 a share, in the year-ago period. Sales increased 5% to $18.24 billion.

Weekly unemployment claims rose less than expected for the week ended January 18, according to the Labor Department’s weekly update. New jobless claims rose by 6,000 to 211,000 during the week, short of the increase to 214 expected, according to Bloomberg consensus data.