Investing.com – Wall Street closed mixed on Thursday as tech stocks racked up gains, led by Facebook and Microsoft, but industrial stocks were hit by a slump in 3M.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.04%. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.21%. But the Dow fell 0.51%, with manufacturing giant 3M (NYSE:MMM) accounting for the bulk of the losses.
3M reported lower-than-expected quarterly profit and downgraded guidance for full-year earnings as weakness in automotive and electronics markets as well as China hurt performance. Its shares slumped 13%, dragging the broader industrials sector lower.
United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) also delivered a blow, closing 8% lower, after missing estimates from Investing.com on both the top and bottom lines. Rival shipping company FedEx (NYSE:FDX) fell 4%.
But it wasn't all doom and gloom on the earnings front as better-than-expected reports from Facebook and Microsoft sent tech soaring.
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) posted a first-quarter earnings beat on the top and bottom lines, as well as user numbers, sending its shares more than 5% higher.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), meanwhile, surged 3%, taking its market cap above $1 trillion, as the tech giant reported blowout first-quarter results that also beat on both the top and bottom lines.
Elsewhere, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) closed 4% lower after it reported an adjusted loss of $2.90 a share for the first quarter, wider than the 69 cents a share loss expected, with revenue also missing estimates.
Energy stocks, meanwhile, ended the day roughly unchanged as U.S. oil prices fell 1% a day after the Energy Information Administration reported a larger-than-expected build in domestic crude supplies.
Homebuilders were also pressured. DR Horton (NYSE:DHI) fell after its better-than-expected quarterly results were offset by its gloomy outlook on revenue.
Lennar (NYSE:LEN), KB Home (NYSE:KBH) and PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) also closed lower.
On the economic front, durable goods orders topped economists' expectations, but jobless claims jumped by more than expected. The mixed economic data comes a day ahead of preliminary first-quarter U.S. GDP numbers.
Top S&P 500 Gainers and Losers Today:
Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF), Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) were among the top S&P 500 gainers for the session.
Xilinx (NASDAQ:XLNX), 3M (NYSE:MMM) and Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold (NYSE:FCX) were among the worst S&P 500 performers of the session.