NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks headed lower in Friday morning trading, dragged down by disappointing results out
of retail giant Amazon and Ford. Escalating tensions between the U.S. and Russia over Ukraine also
weighed on investors’ minds.
KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 15 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,863 as of
11:17 p.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 144 points, or 0.9 percent, to 16,357 and the
Nasdaq composite fell 63 points, or 1.5 percent, to 4,085. All three indexes are now down the week. Of
the three, only the S&P 500 still has slight gain for the year to date, 0.8 percent.
FORD STALLS: Ford fell 58 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $15.74 after the company reported earnings that fell
short of Wall Street’s expectations. Worldwide sales rose 6 percent in the first quarter, but the
company reported a sales drop in North America that cut into the company’s profit. General Motors fell
47 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $33.70.
AMAZON PRICE CUT: Amazon, the world’s largest online store, sank $33.24, or 10 percent, to $304.31.
Amazon reported late Thursday an increase in first-quarter profit, but the company also said that
spending on investments will likely lead to an operating loss in the second quarter.
VOLATILITY: Investors have had little patience for companies missing their forecasts this quarter, said
Scott Clemons, chief investment strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman.
“The market is in a precarious position at the moment, and overacts to bad news far more than it did last
year,” he said, noting as an example the 10 percent drop in Amazon’s stock price, even though the
company did meet analysts’ forecasts. “This volatility doesn’t have to be the enemy, because it allows
you to pick up companies on the cheap.”
RUSSIA: Secretary of State John Kerry accused Russia on Thursday of failing to live up to commitments it
made to ease the crisis in Ukraine. In blunt language, Kerry said that unless Moscow takes immediate
steps to de-escalate the situation, Washington will have no choice but to impose additional sanctions.

OTHER MARKETS: Prices for U.S. government bonds rose, pushing the yield on the 10-year note down to 2.67
percent from 2.68 percent late Thursday. Yields fall when bond prices rise. The price of oil slipped
$1.32, or 1.3 percent, to $100.65.