US close: Stocks close lower as earnings continue to stream in
US stocks closed lower on Wednesday as the previous session's energy rally lost steam amid yet another deluge of corporate earnings.
At the close, both the Dow Jones Industrial and the S&P 500 were down 0.22% to 26,597.05 and 2,927.25, respectively, while the Nasdaq had drifted 0.23% lower to 8,102.01.
The Dow closed 59 points lower on Wednesday as investors' focus was largely set on earnings season, following better-than-expected figures from some blue-chip stocks during the previous session which helped both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 reach all-time highs.
Markets were boosted on Tuesday by a rally in the energy sector as the international benchmark Brent crude jumped to its highest level in five and a half months.
Oil prices shot up on the back of an announcement from the White House that it would be putting an end to the waivers that had allowed Iran's biggest buyers to carry on importing limited amounts of the nation's oil.
But oil prices began pulling back from their highest levels since October early on Wednesday, even as the market assessed whether or not major producers were actually likely to step in quickly with more supply in response to tougher action against Iran.
Elsewhere, America's top trade negotiators were set to travel to Beijing next Tuesday with a view to having a draft deal in place by May.
The visit by American officials, including US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and the Secretary of the Treasury, Robert Mnuchin, would be followed by another to Washington from Chinese officials, including Vice Premier Liu He.
Both sides were hoping to have a draft agreement in place by May, according to a person familiar with the matter quoted by Bloomberg News.
In corporate news, shares in US telco AT&T dropped 4.07% after it came in shy of analysts' quarterly estimates on Wednesday, as lower-than-expected sales at WarnerMedia and a shortfall in revenues at its wireless business weighed on profits.
Biogen dipped 2.52% in the session despite beating first-quarter profit estimates, with Caterpillar sliding 3.60% even as revenues came in strong, boosted by mining and construction equipment.
The world's largest jetmaker Boeing inched up 0.36% after it reported a sharp decline in quarterly earnings on the back of slower commercial airline deliveries and suspended its guidance for 2019 on the back of the recent tragedies involving its best-selling 737 MAX.
Facebook shot up 6.12% in after-hours trading as it topped estimates on the Street for quarterly revenues, boosted by a solid performance from Instagram and rising advertising sales.
Microsoft picked up 2.94% in extended trading as its quarterly revenue and earnings beat estimates thanks to the continued adoption of its cloud computing service and its Office suite of products.
Tesla shares improved 1.25% after the bell despite posting a wider-than-expected loss.
Also reporting after the close was, PayPal, which picked up 0.26%, and Visa, which slipped 1.39%.
Interactive Investor's market head Richard Hunter noted that while earnings season had, so far, "been generally positive", he warned that as the rest of the season unfolds, several sectors will be in sharp focus for investors.
There were no major data points scheduled released on Wednesday.