While you were sleeping: Boeing sends Dow lower

Wall Street slid from record highs as shares of Boeing and AT&T declined following their latest earnings.

At the close of trading in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 112.30 points, or 0.5%, to 23,329.46. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 0.5% to 6563.89 and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index also declined 0.5% to 2557.15.

The Dow fell as declines in shares of Boeing and those of General Electric, down 2.85% and 2.2% respectively, outweighed gains by Nike and Visa, up 3.5% and 1.1% respectively.

Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill plunged 14.6% after the fast-food restaurant chain posted disappointing quarterly results that raised fresh doubts about its ability to rebound from food safety scandals.

"Despite some sales lift from queso and pricing, we view this result and outlook as disappointing, particularly for those looking for a more meaningful recovery following multiple food safety events," Credit Suisse analyst Jason West wrote in a note to clients, CNBC reported.

Credit Suisse slashed its price target on Chipotle shares to $US275, from $US320, according to CNBC.

At least nine brokerages cut their price targets on Wednesday, including Canaccord Genuity analyst Lynne Collier, Reuters reported.

"We continue on the sidelines given our belief that a sales recovery will take longer than many investors expect as we maintain that competitive intrusion is the most significant long term issue for Chipotle," Collier wrote in a note, according to Reuters.

McDonald's to launch cheaper menu
And competition in the US fast-food industry is set to heat up even further. McDonald's will launch a new value-priced menu nationally next year, offering items for $US1, $US2 and $US3, the company said on Tuesday, Bloomberg reported.

The rollout will provide a long-awaited replacement to the Dollar Menu, which was popular with customers but less so with McDonald's franchisees. Almost 100 percent of franchisees have signed up to participate in the new value program, McDonald's said, Bloomberg reported. McDonald's traded 0.3% weaker.

Also weighing on sentiment were mixed messages from the Trump administration about potential limits for tax breaks on workers' 401(k) contributions.

"The 401k issue is causing some confusion because it is directly contradicting the President and the market doesn't like confusion," Michael Antonelli, managing director of institutional sales trading at Robert W. Baird in Milwaukee, told Reuters.

In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index finished 0.6% lower. The UK's FTSE 100 Index dropped 1.1%, Germany's DAX Index retreated 0.5% and France's CAC 40 Index fell 0.4%.

Shares of GlaxoSmithKline dropped 5.5%. Chief executive officer Emma Walmsley said she expected Brexit to add to the UK drugmaker's costs starting later this year. She also said the company was considering acquisition options including Pfizer's consumer healthcare business, raising concern about dividend payments.

Meanwhile, Pfizer plans to kick off an auction process for its consumer healthcare business in November, paving the way for a potential $US15 billion-plus sale of the headache pill to lip balm business, Reuters reported, citing sources close to the matter.

(BusinessDesk)