Investing.com -- Stocks on the U.S. equities markets fell slightly on Thursday, as stronger than expected quarterly earnings from several prominent companies failed to offset a raft of soft manufacturing data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 6.84 or 0.04% to 18,105.77, to end a streak of five daily gains in the last six trading session. The NASDAQ Composite index and the S&P 500 Composite index also posted modest losses -- each falling by less than 3.50 points on the day.
The S&P 500 fell 1.64 or 0.08% to 2,104.99 as stocks in the Utilities, Telecommunications and Industrial sectors lagged. While seven of 10 sectors fell on the session, stocks in the Consumer Goods, Consumer Services and Financial industries closed in the green.
The NASDAQ dropped 3.23 points or 0.06%, but still closed above the 5,000 level at 5,007.79.
Shares in Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) fell slightly in spite of strong earnings for the first quarter. Bolstered by gains in its FICC (Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodities) division, Goldman posted revenue of $10.62 billion in the first quarter, above forecasts of $9.3 billion. Goldman Sachs also beat estimates with strong earnings in its equities division.
The top performer on the Dow was UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), which gained 4.28 or 3.65% to 121.60 after it beat quarterly estimates and raised guidance for the remainder of the year. UnitedHealth, one of the nation's largest managed health care companies, reported first quarter earnings of 1.46 per share, above estimates of 1.35. The earnings represented a 33% increase on a year-over-year basis from the same period last year.
The worst performer was Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK), which lost 0.60 or 1.03% to 57.85, one day after option trading in the New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company soared amid the commencement of the third-stage of its proposed Ebola vaccine.
Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) ended the session as the top performer on the NASDAQ and S&P 500, following a surge in international viewership last quarter. Expectations of increased access to high-speed internet overseas could lead to even further growth in the online streaming movie provider. Shares in Netflix soared 88.17 or 18.54% to 563.63.The worst performer on NASDAQ was SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK), which fell 3.42 or 4.81% to 67.70.
Besides Netflix, the top performer on the S&P 500 was Philip Morris International Inc (NYSE:PM), which gained 6.75 or 8.64% to 84.88. During the first quarter of the year, Philip Morris reported earnings of 1.16 per share vastly outperforming estimates by 0.15. The worst performer was drilling company Ensco, which lost 1.45 or 5.46% to 25.13.