U.S. stocks retreated the most in three weeks as American Express Co. tumbled to its lowest level since 2013, data signaled stronger inflation and China tightened trading rules.
American Express fell 4.8 percent after quarterly revenue missed estimates. Travelers Cos., 3M Co. and Microsoft Corp. dropped more than 2 percent to pace declines in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Advanced Micro Devices slumped 13 percent after saying it is hard to see whether the second half will be “substantially better†than the first half of the year.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 1 percent to 2,083.55 at 12:43 p.m. in New York, near its average price for the past 50 days. The Dow lost 251.31 points, or 1.4 percent, to 17,854.46. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 1.5 percent.
“We’re very early in the earnings season and with multiples much higher now there’s some nervousness,†said Steve Bombardiere, an equity trader at Conifer Securities LLC in New York. “We need to get further into the season until we get some direction so right now these little things in the background are good fodder for some short-term gut wrenching.â€