NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. stocks opened lower in early trading Thursday as investors assessed the latest corporate earnings. Harman International, which makes audio systems for cars, and Yelp, an online listing company, fell sharply after posting weak earnings reports.
KEPPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped 12 points, or 0.6 percent, 2,094 as of 10:06 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 99 points, or 0.6 percent, to 17,937 points. The Nasdaq composite slipped 35 points, or 0.7 percent, to 4,988.
EARNINGS FLOPS: Harman International Industries, a maker of audio equipment for cars, reported earnings that fell short of analysts’ estimates and lowered its own forecast for revenue and earnings. The company blamed the impact of the stronger dollar and weaker growth. Its stock fell $19.70, or 14.1 percent, to $120.35.
Yelp plunged $9.87, or 19 percent, to $41.41 after it reported a loss of $1.3 million in its first quarter and gave a lower-than-expected revenue outlook late Wednesday. Yelp said the number of visitors to its desktop site fell as more users browsed on smartphones and tablets.
EUROPE: Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.1 percent while France’s CAC 40 gained 0.3 percent. Germany’s DAX climbed 0.8 percent.