The Dow Jones Industrials slumped 110.39 points to 33,786.62.
The S&P 500 flopped 24.73 points to 4,129.79.
The NASDAQ dropped 97.67 points to close the day at 12,059.56.
The mounting concern over downward pressure on profit margins hurt Tesla shares as the electric vehicle maker cut prices on some of its cars during the recent quarterly period. The company posted a more than 20% decline in net income from a year ago after the bell Wednesday. Shares fell more than 10%.
Tesla weighed on the tech-heavy index and the broader sector, with Nvidia, Microsoft and Apple all trading lower. Seagate Technology shares lost more than 9% after missing estimates and issuing disappointing guidance, citing weak demand.
Energy marked another area of market weakness as oil prices declined about 2%. Some laggards included APA, Marathon Oil and ConocoPhillips.
Disappointing results from both AT&T and American Express did little to alleviate some of the market concern. The payments company, offering another look at the health of the U.S. consumer, lost about 2% as earnings per share fell short of estimates. AT&T fell 10% on slowing subscriber growth fears.
So far this earnings season, about 16% of companies in the S&P 500 have reported results, with about 76% beating EPS expectations, according to FactSet data as of Thursday. Many on Wall Street this season are bracing for an earnings decline. A general lack of profit forecasts, however, has begun to concern some investors.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury vaulted, lowering yields to 3.54% from Wednesday’s 3.60%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices ditched $1.87 to $77.29 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $6.60 to $2,013.90 U.S. an ounce.