A steep sell-off in Facebook is leading a slide in technology stocks that weighed on U.S. indexes in early trading Thursday. Investors hammered shares in the social media giant after it reported slower revenue growth in the second quarter. The technology sector’s losses outweighed gains in consumer goods companies, banks and industrial stocks.
KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 index slid 6 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,839 as of 10:09 a.m. Eastern Time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 139 points, or 0.6 percent, to 25,553. The Nasdaq composite index lost 74 points, or 0.9 percent, to 7,857. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks picked up 6 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,691.
The S&P 500, the market’s benchmark index, is on track for its fourth weekly gain in a row.
UNLIKED: Facebook sank 18.7 percent to $176.74 after the social media giant said that its user base and revenue grew more slowly than expected in the second quarter. The slower growth came about as the company grappled with privacy issues.
HOMES SWEET HOMES: D.R. Horton jumped 6 percent to $41.92 after the homebuilder reported solid quarterly results.
TASTY RESULTS: Shares in Mondelez International, which sells Oreo cookies and Cadbury chocolate, climbed 4.7 percent to $43.45 after the company’s latest quarterly earnings and revenue topped analyst estimates.
OIL: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 6 cents to $69.36 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 14 cents to $74.07.
BOND YIELDS: Bond prices rose, sending yields lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 2.95 percent from 2.97 percent late Wednesday.
CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 111.04 yen from 110.83 on yen Wednesday. The euro weakened to $1.1681 from $1.1699.
MARKETS OVERSEAS: Major stock indexes in Europe were mostly higher. Germany’s DAX jumped 1.6 percent while France’s CAC 40 added 0.4 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.1 percent. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.1 percent while South Korea’s Kospi added 0.7 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.5 percent.
