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US stocks fall: Tesla, biotechs weigh on Nasdaq

New York - US stocks finished lower on Tuesday following mixed earnings, with the Nasdaq especially weak due to steep declines in biotech shares and Tesla Motors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 13.43 points (0.08%) to 17 217.11.

The broad-based S&P 500 shed 2.89 (0.14%) to 2 030.77, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 24.50 (0.50%) to 4 880.97.

Nasdaq-listed Tesla slumped 6.6% after Consumer Reports said the carmaker's "Model S" electric car has a poor reliability performance.

Biotech companies also fell, including Celgene (-2.7%) and Gilead Sciences (-1.9%), part of a sell-off in pharma stocks that also hit Dow members Pfizer (-1.5%) and Merck (-2.0%).

Other large technology stocks also fell, including Amazon (-2.2%) and Google (-2.4%). But Apple jumped 1.8% after chief executive Tim Cook said the technology giant's new music service already has some 6.5 million subscribers.

Dow member IBM sank 5.8% after reporting that revenues fell for the 14th straight quarter and trimming its full-year profit forecast.

Harley-Davidson plummeted 13.9% after announcing it would cut an unspecified number of jobs in response to lower sales. Earnings for the third-quarter fell 6.5% to $140.3m.

Dow member United Technologies rose 3.9% after reporting that third-quarter earnings translated into $1.61 per share, above the $1.55 projected by analysts.

Among other companies reporting earnings, Verizon rose 1.2% and Travelers advanced 2.5% while Lockheed Martin fell 0.9%.

Yum Brands, the owner of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, advanced 1.8% on news it will split off its China business into a separate company.

United Continental fell 1.8% after announcing that general counsel Brett Hart will serve as acting chief executive, substituting for newly appointed CEO Oscar Munoz, who was hospitalized on Thursday after a heart attack.

Weight Watchers International rose 31.1%, surging for a second straight day following news of its partnership with Oprah Winfrey. Shares more than doubled on Monday.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.07% from 2.02% on Monday, while the 30-year advanced to 2.92% from 2.88%. Bond prices and yields move inversely.

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