US stocks dip on weak data, JPMorgan outlook

In this Friday, Feb. 21, 2014, file photo, trader Gregory Rowe, center, works at the post of specialist Joseph Mastrolia, left, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Wall Street stocks fell Tuesday following weak US economic data and a mixed outlook from JPMorgan Chase on some of its key business units. AP

NEW YORK—Wall Street stocks fell Tuesday following weak US economic data and a mixed outlook from JPMorgan Chase on some of its key business units.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 27.48 points (0.17 percent) to 16,179.66.

The broad-based S&P 500 dipped 2.49 (0.13 percent) to 1,845.12, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gave up 5.38 (0.13 percent) at 4,287.59.

Data came in below expectations. The Case-Shiller index for home prices in 20 leading US cities fell 0.1 percent in December, the second straight monthly decline. The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index fell to 78.1 in February from 79.4 in January.

Mace Blicksilver, director of Marblehead Asset Management, said investors were also disappointed by comments from JPMorgan Chase during an investor day that indicated a mediocre outlook in some divisions, including investment banking and fixed-income trading.

The JPMorgan outlook is “a little bit of a negative,” Blicksilver said.

As a result, the “financials are a little weaker,” he added.

JPMorgan fell 1.7 percent, while investment banks Goldman Sachs slipped 1.8 percent and Morgan Stanley lost 2.0 percent.

Earnings from Home Depot showed the home-improvement retailer continued to thrive, beating forecasts by two cents, and comparable-store sales up 4.4 percent. The company posted the day’s biggest gains in the Dow, rising 4.0 percent.

Macy’s earnings of $2.31 per share bested forecasts by 14 cents, as investors dismissed revenues that came in under expectations as the result of bad weather that closed stores. Shares jumped 6.0 percent.

Shares of electric automaker Tesla Motors powered 13.9 percent higher after Consumer Reports named its luxury car Tesla Model S the top vehicle of 2014 to buy. The stock also benefited from a bullish report by Morgan Stanley.

LinkedIn announced plans to launch a Chinese language version of its online professional networking site, lifting shares 5.1 percent.

Biotechnology company InterMune skyrocketed 170.8 percent on news that its Pirfenidone treatment significantly reduced the progression of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in a trial.

General Motors significantly expanded a recall of certain models of Chevrolet and other brands due to an ignition defect. The largest US automaker has now recalled 1.6 million cars for the flaw, up from 780,000 two weeks ago. Shares fell 1.2 percent.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 2.70 percent from 2.75 percent Monday, while the 30-year declined to 3.66 percent from 3.71 percent.