Stocks Ended Mixed, Nasdaq Booked a Gain

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Thursday, with the Nasdaq eking out a positive finish as investors braced for a litany of quarterly results from behemoths of the technology and e-commerce world. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 225.92 points, or 0.85%, to 26,313.65. The S&P 500 lost 12.20 points, or 0.38%, to 3,246.24. The Nasdaq Composite gained 44.87 points, or 0.43%, to 10,587.81

Oil futures were sharply lower on Thursday, pressured by worries a resurgence in coronavirus cases around the world will cause demand to falter as major oil producers begin relaxing output curbs. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery dropped $1.35, or 3.3%, to settle at $39.92 a barrel. September Brent crude fell 81 cents, or nearly 1.9%, at $42.94 a barrel.

Amazon (AMZN) posted second quarter revenue and earnings that blew away Wall Street estimates. It reported second-quarter earnings of $5.2 billion, or $10.30 a share, nearly doubling from $5.22 a share a year ago. Sales came $88.9 billion, up 40% from $63.4 billion a year ago.

Facebook Inc. (FB) blew past Wall Street estimates for the second quarter. The company reported net income of $5.18 billion, or $1.80 a share, compared with net income of $2.62 billion, or 91 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue improved 11% to $18.69 billion from $16.89 billion a year ago.

Ford Motor Co. reported a narrower-than-expected adjusted loss in the second quarter, with sales halved in comparison with a year ago. It earned $1.1 billion, or 28 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with earnings of 4 cents a share in the year-ago period. Revenue fell 50% to $19.4 billion from $38.9 billion a year ago.