U.S. Stocks Decline as Banks Kick Off Earnings

U.S. stocks edge lower

-- J.P. Morgan, Citigroup fall after earnings

-- Stocks in Japan, South Korea touch records

Declines in bank shares pulled U.S. stock indexes away from records Thursday.

Earnings season kicked off in earnest this week, with J.P. Morgan Chase and Citigroup reporting quarterly results that disappointed investors Thursday.

Strong earnings growth among U.S. companies has supported major stock indexes this year. If results are solid again this quarter, that should help U.S. stocks keep climbing even as investors raise concerns about valuations that make shares look pricey, some analysts said.

"Growth may not be stellar, but it's enough to create a good tailwind for company earnings," said Karyn Cavanaugh, senior market strategist at Voya Investment Management.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 31.88 points, or 0.1%, to 22841.01 after finishing at a record Wednesday. The S&P 500 edged down 4.31 points, or 0.2%, to 2550.93, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 12.04 points, or 0.2%, to 6591.51.

J.P. Morgan shares declined 85 cents, or 0.9%, to $95.99 after the company beat expectations for earnings and revenue, but said revenue from fixed-income trading fell.

Shares of Citigroup lost 2.57, or 3.4%, to 72.37 after the bank topped analysts' forecasts for revenue and earnings. Still, the company's return on equity continued to lag behind its peers.

Bank of America and Wells Fargo & Co. are expected to report results Friday.

CarGurus, which made its stock-market debut Thursday, opened 81% above its initial public offering price -- marking the biggest pop on an opening trade for U.S.-listed IPOs this year. Shares of the online car-seller closed up 11.58, or 72%, to 27.58.

Technology-services company DXC Technology was the biggest gainer in the S&P 500, adding 3.55, or 4.1%, to 91.20. Elsewhere in the tech sector, semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices added 32 cents, or 2.3%, to 14.20.

Energy shares in the S&P 500, one of the worst-performing groups of the year, fell 0.4% on Thursday as oil prices slid. U.S. crude for November delivery fell 1.4% to $50.60 a barrel.

Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 swung between small gains and losses before finishing up less than 0.1%.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gained 0.4% and posted its eighth-consecutive advance. South Korea's Kospi added 0.7% and hit a fresh record.

Write to Akane Otani at akane.otani@wsj.com and Riva Gold at riva.gold@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 12, 2017 17:17 ET (21:17 GMT)