Stocks on Wall Street Pull Back

Updated from 9:08 a.m. EDT

U.S. stocks logged a slightly lower open Thursday as investors navigated a flood of earnings, observed a modest bounce in crude-oil prices and waited for new information about the capsized housing market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 23 points to 11,606, while the S&P 500 dropped a point to 1281. The Nasdaq gave up 4 points to 2322.

The downtick came as traders sorted through another slew of corporate quarterly reports.

Following the close of Wednesday's trading, online merchant Amazon.com (AMZN Quote - Cramer on AMZN - Stock Picks) beat earnings estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Elsewhere in technology, chipmaker Qualcomm (QCOM Quote - Cramer on QCOM - Stock Picks) matched analyst expectations despite a decline in third-quarter profit. Qualcomm also settled a patent dispute with cell-phone maker Nokia (NOK Quote - Cramer on NOK - Stock Picks).

Meanwhile, homebuilder Ryland (RYL Quote - Cramer on RYL - Stock Picks) posted a loss that was worse than its year-ago results, while Pulte Homes (PHM Quote - Cramer on PHM - Stock Picks) narrowed its own loss.

Before the new day's trading got underway, investors heard quarterly results from another heap of companies. Dow Chemical (DOW Quote - Cramer on DOW - Stock Picks) reported a 27% drop in profit on rising energy and materials costs.

Farm products makers Bunge (BG Quote - Cramer on BG - Stock Picks) and fertilizer seller Potash (POT Quote - Cramer on POT - Stock Picks), on the other hand, both recorded soaring profits.

In the pharmaceutical space, Elan (ELN Quote - Cramer on ELN - Stock Picks) cut its second-quarter loss in half on improving sales of its multiple-sclerosis drug Tysabri. Eli Lilly (LLY Quote - Cramer on LLY - Stock Picks) announced a 44% increase in second-quarter income, but reduced its full-year earnings outlook. Celgene (CELG Quote - Cramer on CELG - Stock Picks) likewise saw profits soar on strong sales of its Revlimid blood cancer treatment.

Automaker Ford (F Quote - Cramer on F - Stock Picks) posted a wider-than-expected loss of $8.7 billion on waning demand for its heavy vehicles and hefty impairment charges.

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