Institutional sellers were back at it again Thursday as the Nasdaq composite suffered its third straight distribution day and seventh since July 26, according to preliminary data.
X The Nasdaq gave up support at the 50-day moving average, slumping 2.1%; the S&P 500 did the same, falling 1.5%. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.9%. Small caps also took a hit, with the Russell 2000 down 1.7%. The Russell marked its seventh straight close below the 50-day line.
Investor fear was front and center as the CBOE Volatility index surged 41% to 15.70.
Gold attracted safe-haven buying and was quoted at $1,290.80 an ounce, up 0.9%. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) gained 0.7% to 122.21. It's on the verge of a breakout over a 123.17 buy point.
In the stock market today, earnings reports remained in focus and carnage was the operative word.
Blue Apron's (APRN) struggles continued after the company issued its first earnings report as a publicly-traded company. Shares slumped nearly 18% to 5.14. Slightly better-than-expected sales growth was offset by a wider-than-expected loss. Blue Apron went public June 29 at 10 a share.
NetEase (NTES), meanwhile, crashed 10% after earnings of $3.86 a share barely beat expectations and rose just 5% from the year-ago quarter. Sales growth was solid, up 46% to $1.97 billion, but it was a deceleration from 62% growth in Q1.
Department store operators found themselves in a world of hurt again after Macy's (M), Kohl's (KSS) and Dillard's (DDS) slumped on earnings. Macy's shed 10%, Kohl's slumped 6% and Dillard's crashed 16%.
Planet Fitness (PLNT) was a bright spot on earnings. Shares jumped 9% to 25.13. It broke out past a 24.68 flat-base entry.
YY (YY) was volatile but held up after reporting earnings. Shares eased 0.11. YY reported sales of $384.8 million, topping the consensus estimate of $368.6 million and up 29% from the year-ago quarter. Revenue from livestreaming service rose 43% to $350 million.
Nvidia (NVDA) slumped 4% to 164.74 ahead of its earnings report after the close. The stock has been a solid performer since surging past a 121.02 buy point in May. Nvidia recently tried to break out over a 168.60 entry, but volume never came into the stock.
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