The major averages are lower at midday as investors react to an increasing volume of earnings reports and await news tomorrow from the Fed. The central bank has kicked off its two day FOMC meeting and will report tomorrow afternoon on whether it will take further action to support the economy as COVID-19 continues to stall growth.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the Case Shiller 20-City home price index rose 0.4% to 224.8 for May. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index dropped 5.7 points in July to a weaker than expected 92.6 reading. The Richmond Fed manufacturing index jumped 10 points to 10 in July.
TOP NEWS: Shares of McDonald's (MCD) are down nearly 3% near noon after the fast food giant reported worse than expected quarterly earnings and said its global same-store sales were down 23.9% compared to last year, driven mainly by international declines. On the plus side, U.S. same-store sales were down only 8.7% in the quarter and CEO Chris Kempczinski says: "Throughout our history, McDonald's has demonstrated the strategic foresight necessary to position our business for the future. Our strong drive-thru presence and the investments we've made in delivery and digital over the past few years have served us well through these uncertain times. We saw continued improvement in our results throughout the second quarter as markets reopened around the world.
Conversely, Pfizer (PFE) shares are up 4% following the drugmaker's better than expected Q2 results and guidance raise.
In other large cap earnings news, Sherwin-Williams (SHW) and Altria (MO) are higher following their reports, while 3M (MMM) and Ecolab (ECL) are among the decliners.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Spectrum (SPPI), which rose 18% after the ZENITH20 Phase 2 clinical trial met its pre-specified primary endpoint. Also higher were Vocera (VCRA), Medpace (MEDP), and OneMain Holdings (OMF), which gained a respective 34%, 12%, and 11% after reporting quarterly results.
Among the notable losers was BioXcel Therapeutics (BTAI), which slid 12% after it announced a $200M common stock offering. Also lower were AudioCodes (AUDC), Armstrong World Industries (AWI), and Harley-Davidson (HOG), which fell 17%, 10%, and 4%, respectively, after reporting quarterly results.
INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was down 98.55, or 0.37%, to 26,486.22 , the Nasdaq was down 47.99, or 0.46%, to 10,488.28 , and the S&P 500 was down 4.10, or 0.13%, to 3,235.31 .
