Tech, Banks Continue the Slide: Thursday's IP Market Recap

Technology and financial stocks once again proved a drag on markets, today. The major indices fell broadly for a second straight day as investors looked through more earnings reports and didn’t like what they found.

The two-day slide fell hardest on the Nasdaq which dropped 1.20% to 3,166.36, while the S&P 500 fell 0.67% to 1,541.61 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 0.56% to close at 14,537.14.

Apple (NASDAQ:) continued to crater, falling immediately below $400 at the open, and continuing down nearly 3% to its lowest closing point since November 2011 ($391). Meanwhile, Nokia (NYSE:) shares dropped more than 11% after the cell phone company reported a 32% drop in its cellphone sales and a 25% drop in overall revenue.

Shares of eBay (NASDAQ:) also struggled, falling more than 5% after the online-auction giant issued weak second-quarter guidance. Even chip maker SanDisk (NASDAQ:), who managed to report better-than-expected earnings and sales for the first-quarter, found its shares under pressure, falling about 6% on the day.

In after-hours action in the sector, Microsoft (NASDAQ:) was trading up nearly 2% after posting earnings. The company beat Wall Street estimates for earnings and met revenue expectations. Google (NASDAQ:) was trading down fractionally after reporting higher earnings but revenues below estimates. IBM (NYSE:) was the big after-hours loser, falling more than 3% on an earnings miss, which was blamed on depreciation in the Japanese Yen.

In the bank sector, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:) reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue, but its traditional trading business saw weak revenue growth, and shares traded down more than 4%. Meanwhile, sector mate Bank of America (NYSE:) fell another 2.2% on the day after a 5% drop on Wednesday. Shares of Citigroup (NYSE:) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:) dropped more than 1% on the day.

Healthcare stocks also took a beating, as

UnitedHealthgroup (NYSE:) fell more than 3% — the biggest drop in the Dow — after announcing lower profits due to smaller government reimbursements under the Affordable Care Act. Shares of Humana (NYSE:, -3.14%), Health Net (NYSE:, -3.08%) and WellPoint (NYSE:, -2.68%) also fell on the news.

On the brighter side of the ledger, shares of PepsiCo (NYSE:) rose 3% on better-than-expected quarterly earnings, and Verizon (NYSE:) managed the same trick, rising more than 2% after beating earnings forecasts.

Earnings notables for Friday include McDonald’s (NYSE:), Genuine Parts (NYSE:), and InvestorPlace Real America Index component Under Armour (NYSE:).