Stock Market Today: Dow Surrenders 809 Points as Q1 Earnings Roll In

U.S. stocks opened the day in negative territory and losses accelerated as the session wore on.

Earnings remained in focus, and several of today's reactions were negative. General Electric (GE), for instance, spiraled downward 10.3% after its results. While the industrial conglomerate beat on the top and bottom lines in its first quarter, CEO Lawrence Culp warned the company is "trending toward the low end" of its full-year guidance as it continues "to work through inflation and other evolving pressures."

JetBlue Airways (JBLU), meanwhile, shed 11.4% after the air carrier's plans to reduce capacity growth in the short term offset a narrower-than-expected first-quarter loss. JBLU's post-earnings decline pressured fellow airline stocks, with Alaska Air Group (ALK, -4.6%), Southwest Airlines (LUV, -3.0%) and Delta Air Lines (DAL, -3.2%) all finishing notably lower.

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The selling was broad-based, with consumer discretionary (-5.1%) and technology (-3.7%) the two hardest hit sectors. Only energy gained ground, adding 0.1% as U.S. crude futures climbed 3.2% to $101.70 per barrel.

At the close, the Nasdaq Composite was down 4.0% at 12,490 – its worst day since September 2020 – the S&P 500 Index was off 2.8% at 4,175 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 2.4% lower at 33,240.

Other news in the stock market today:

• The small-cap Russell 2000 gave back 3.3% to 1,890.
• Gold futures gained 0.4% to settle at $1,904.10 an ounce.
• Bitcoin retreated 5.9% to $37,918.63. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m.) "Bitcoin was tentatively back above the $40,000 level as Wall Street became more optimistic with the long-term outlook for cryptocurrencies after reports that Fidelity Investments will allow Bitcoin into 401(k)s," says Edward Moya, senior market strategist at currency data provider OANDA. "Bitcoin reversed lower as risk aversion returned to Wall Street; Russia's suspension of gas supplies to Poland sent risky assets, including Bitcoin, sharply lower."
• Sherwin-Williams (SHW) jumped 9.4% after the paints and coatings retailer reported first-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.61 per share and revenue of $5 billion, both figures higher than analysts were expecting. SHW also reaffirmed its full-year guidance for adjusted earnings of $9.25 to $9.65 per share. "Our team delivered results in line with our expectations in an environment characterized by strong demand, ongoing cost inflation and choppy raw material availability that improved meaningfully in the final weeks of the quarter," said John Morikis, CEO of Sherwin-Williams, in the company's earnings release.
• United Parcel Service (UPS) slipped 3.5% after the delivery giant reported earnings. In its first quarter, UPS recorded adjusted earnings of $3.05 per share and revenue of $24.4 billion, higher than consensus estimates. The company also reiterated its full-year guidance, though CEO Carol Tome cautioned that we're not likely to see the same kind of e-commerce growth witnessed during the pandemic going forward. Argus Research analyst John Eade (Buy) said weakness in the stock represents a "buying opportunity," and that the company "remains well positioned to benefit from a number of positive trends."

What Wall Street's Saying About Social Media Stocks

One notable decliner in today's trading: Twitter (TWTR). Shares retreated 3.9% to $49.68– one day after the company's board of directors approved Elon Musk's $44-billion, or $54.20 per-share, buyout of the platform.

News that the Tesla (TSLA) CEO is taking TWTR private has narrowed the field of social media stocks, but analysts are still upbeat about the few remaining primary players.

Case in point: S&P Global Market Intelligence pegs the average analyst price target for Facebook parent Meta Platforms (FB) – which joins Twitter on this week's tech-focused earnings calendar – at $315.51, implying 44% potential upside from current levels.

Today, we take a closer look at the social media stocks to watch post-Twitter and break down why Wall Street's pros are so bullish on the group. Take a look.