US Close 26 July 19: US Stocks retreat from record highs

* US sharemarkets fell on Thursday. Shares in Ford Motor fell 7.45% with Reuters noting that the "automaker reported a lower-than-expected profit and gave a disappointing full-year earnings forecast." About 75% of the 185 S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings so far have topped profit estimates, according to Refinitiv data. The Dow Jones fell by 129 points or 0.5% after being down 208 points at one stage. The S&P500 lost 0.5% from record highs and the Nasdaq lost 83 points or 1.0% from record levels.

European sharemarkets fell on Thursday. The European Central Bank (ECB) left monetary policy settings unchanged. The ECB chief Mario Draghi indicated potential to ease policy settings but didn't seem in a rush to deliver more stimulus, disappointing investors. Draghi sees a very low chance of a Euro zone recession. Banks fell 0.3%. Shares of the world's largest brewer Anheuser-Busch rose 4.3% after reporting the fastest beer sales growth in five years. The pan-European STOXX600 index fell by 0.6%, the German Dax was down by 1.3% and the UK FTSE lost 0.2%. In London trade, shares of Rio Tinto fell by 0.7% and BHP lost 0.1%. 

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