NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / April 20, 2018 / U.S. markets slipped Thursday as tech and consumer staples sectors disappointed investors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.34 percent to close at 24,664.89, while the S&P 500 Index dropped 0.57 percent to close at 2,693.13. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.78 percent to close at 7,238.06. Through Thursday morning approximately 77 percent of the companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings have topped earnings expectations, while 75 percent have topped sales estimates, according to Thomson Reuters.

"The market is looking tired as yields may soon be a constraining factor that could overshadow good earnings," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities, according to CNBC.

RDI Initiates Coverage on:

Applied Materials, Inc.
https://rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=AMAT

Lam Research Corp.
https://rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=LRCX

Applied Materials' stock moved 6.47% lower Thursday, to close the day at $51.19. The stock recorded a trading volume of 22,945,222 shares, which was above its three months average volume of 14,918,332 shares. In the last year, Applied Materials' shares have traded in a range of 39.15 - 62.40. The share price has gained 30.75% from its 52 week low. The company's shares are currently trading below their 200-day moving average. The stock's 50-day moving average of $57.19 is greater than its 200-day moving average of $54.91. Shares of Applied Materials are trading at a Price to Earnings ratio of 19.27. Shares of Applied Materials have fallen roughly 12.50 percent in the past month and are up 0.14 percent year-to-date.

Access RDI's Applied Materials, Inc. Research Report at:
https://rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=AMAT

On Thursday, shares of Lam Research recorded a trading volume of 8,397,299 shares, which was above the three months average volume of 3,953,250 shares. The stock ended the day 6.57% lower at 190.39. The share price has gained 39.57% from its 52 week low with a 52 week trading range of 136.41 - 234.88. The company's shares are currently trading below their 200-day moving average. The stock's 50-day moving average of $207.17 is greater than its 200-day moving average of $197.55. Shares of the company are trading at a Price to Earnings ratio of 20.91. Shares of Lam Research have fallen roughly 12.50 percent in the past month and are up 3.43 percent year-to-date.

Access RDI's Lam Research Corp. Research Report at:
https://rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=LRCX

Our Actionable Research on Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) and Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ:LRCX) can be downloaded free of charge at Research Driven Investing.

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