Stocks Opened Lower as Earnings Season Kicked Off

U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Tuesday, as investors considered an early batch of corporate earnings results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 2.80 points, or 0.01%, to 26,083.00. The S&P 500 declined 13.04 points, or 0.41%, to 3,142.18. The Nasdaq Composite was down 41.55 points, or 0.40%, to 10,349.29.

Oil futures slipped Tuesday, with pressure attributed to mounting tensions between the U.S. and China, as well as a continued rise in COVID-19 infections and expectations major oil producers will agree to begin easing output curbs. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was down 47 cents or 1.17% at $39.65 a barrel. September Brent crude was up 18 cents or 0.43 % at $43.37 a barrel.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) delivered stronger-than-expected results for its second-quarter earnings. It earned $1.38 a share from $33.8 billion in revenue. In last year’s second quarter, the bank earned $2.82 a share from $29.5 billion in revenue.

Wells Fargo swung to a loss in the second quarter for the first time since 2008. Its second-quarter net loss of $2.4 billion compared with net income of $6.2 billion last year.

Citigroup posted better than expected results on the top and bottom line during the fiscal second quarter. Second-quarter revenue of $19.8 billion grew 5% over last year, with fixed income markets revenue jumping 68%.

Delta Air Lines (DAL) on Tuesday reported a steep plunge in second quarter revenues and profit, as the COVID-19 pandemic hammering the travel industry ravaged the company’s bottom line.