The markets retreated during the midday to trade lower with the Dow tumbling 71 points to 20,520. Nasdaq lost 12 points to 5,823.
Facebook's Messenger app now boasts 1.2 billion active users every month. The number of monthly users is on par with WhatsApp and double that of Instagram. Facebook recently added new features to Messenger such as group video calling, digital diary sharing and photo effects such as frames, masks, and stickers.
Banks began releasing first quarter earnings this morning with Wells Fargo reporting flat profits while the earnings of both Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase climbed. Still reeling from a fake accounts scandal that will cost the bank $185 million in penalties, Wells Fargo reported a sharp 25% drop in mortgage banking income. Increased trading activity boosted results for JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup to top analyst estimates.
Samsung's Galaxy S8 will launch in the U.S. on April 21 without the English version of the Bixby virtual assistant. No reason was given for the delay. English Bixby is expected to be ready in the spring. The Korean version of Bixby will be available when the S8 is released.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 7 to 3 on the NYSE and by 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index fell 7 points to 2,337. Bitcoin plunged $47 to $1163.
