Wall Street hit by poor earnings reports

It was a bad day for US equities, as the three major indexes closed in the red, although of their daily lows. A batch of soft earnings reports fueled the decline right after the opening, with the indexes unable to get into the green all through the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 112 points to end the day at 23,329.36, while the S&P lost 0.47%, to close at 2,55.15. The Nasdaq Composite shed 34 points or 0.52%, closing the day at 6,563.89. Among the worst performers were Chipotle Mexican Grill, which  plunged 14%, and Alaska Air Group, that lost over 13% as earnings missed. A couple of negative reports are less dramatic than how the market reacted today, with the decline seems more linked to the surprise factor, as earning were performing quite well, than the actual results.

The Dow  traded as low as 23,249 intraday, its lowest for the week, but settled a few points above Friday's close, which limits the risk of a steeper decline. The overall bullish trend remains firm in place, but further declines below the mentioned daily low could see the index extending is decline, with the next relevant support being 23,019, October 18th high. Below this last a first sprout of panic could poke out, and lead to a steeper corrective movement.