US stocks dip, Disney falls on ESPN worries

Disney shares have dropped 2.8 per cent over worries about its ESPN network PHOTO: REUTERS

NEW YORK (AFP) - Wall Street stocks dipped early Wednesday (May 10), with Disney shares sliding on worries about its ESPN network, and as the market weighed President Donald Trump's shock firing of FBI director James Comey.

About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2 per cent to 20,933.85.

The broad-based S&P 500 lost 0.1 per cent at 2,395.21, as did the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index which dropped to 6,116.79.

Trump late Tuesday afternoon terminated Comey, saying the FBI chief had "lost the confidence of almost everyone in Washington." But some US media drew comparisons to Watergate, the 1970s political scandal that ended Richard Nixon's presidency. The FBI is investigating Russian ties to the White House.

Still the losses in the stock market were modest early in the session, suggesting Comey's removal is "going to stir K Street today a lot more than it will Wall Street," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare, referring to a Washington boulevard known as home to lobbyists.

Dow member Disney fell 2.8 per cent after a drop in earnings in its cable television business underscored worries about the prospects of its ESPN sports network with the decline in the sector due to streaming options. Net profits rose 11.4 per cent to $2.4 billion.

Electronic Arts shot up 10.1 per cent after quarterly revenues at the video game developer jumped 16.7 percent to $1.5 billion.

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