US stocks fall on disappointing earnings

Wall Street stocks fell early Thursday, with several companies tumbling after earnings, while Comcast shares surged after the company bowed out of a bidding war with Disney for Fox media assets.

About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 25,139.62, down 0.2 percent.

The broad-based S&P 500 also dropped 0.2 percent to 2,810.40, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 0.1 percent to 7,844.35.

Investors have been bullish on second-quarter results amid projections that earnings overall could jump 20 percent from the year-ago levels following the US tax reform.

But Thursday was an ugly day for most companies that released reports.

Ebay sank nearly eight percent after it lowered its full-year sales forecast, exacerbating worries the online marketplace is losing momentum to Amazon.

American Express fell 2.7 percent, Travelers lost 2.4 percent and Alcoa dropped 6.1 percent, after releasing earnings.

IBM jumped 3.9 percent after its report.

Comcast gained 3.0 percent as it said it was pulling out of the bidding war with Walt Disney Co. for film and television operations of Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox and would focus on acquiring the European pay TV operator Sky.

Fox lost 1.6 percent, while Disney gained 1.6 percent.