U.S. equities and stock exchange traded funds declined Thursday as a number of weak second quarter corporate earnings and concerns over the outlook for President Donald Trump’s pro-growth agenda triggered another round of selling.
The S&P 500 Index, along with related funds including the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA: SPY), iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA: IVV) and Vanguard 500 Index (NYSEARCA: VOO), were 0.9% lower Thursday.
Brick-and-mortar stores were once again in the spotlight after Victoria’s Secret parent L Brands was one of the worst-performers in the S&P 500, declining over 10% after the company cut its forecast for the rest of the year, the Wall Street Journal reports. Wal-Mart also slipped on lower profits on higher same-store sales.
Furthermore, Cisco Systems weakened after the company revealed revenue decreased last quarter.
Consumer discretionary companies in the S&P 500 fell 0.9% while Technology companies in the S&P 500 declined 1.2%.
Further adding to market fear, a van crashed into dozens of people in the center of Barcelona on Thursday, with the Spanish media, citing police sources, said at least 13 were killed, Reuters reports. Catalan police were treating the crash as a terror attack.
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Investors were also wary of the economic outlook, following Trump’s disbanding of two business councils Wednesday after several chief executives quit over remarks on white nationalists. Traders were concerned that the action would further distract the administration from its pro-growth agenda of tax cuts, deregulation and increased fiscal spending.
“There’s a lot of little things weighing on people’s minds and it makes for a quicker decision to get out,” Peter Costa, president of Empire Executions Inc, told Reuters. “People are becoming a little more skeptical about market valuations. Even though the economy is doing fairly well and you’ve a host of positives, people get a little nervous when you get close to long-term highs.”
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