Stocks Ease Back From Record Highs

(AP) -- Stocks wobbled in midday trading on Wall Street Wednesday, a day after the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average set their latest record highs.

The S&P 500 fell 0.1% as of 11:53 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 126 points, or 0.4%, to 35,631 and the Nasdaq rose 0.4%.

The S&P 500 had more losers than gainers, but several big technology and communications companies gained ground and helped counter losses elsewhere. Microsoft rose 4.1% after reporting a 24% surge in profits last quarter as its cloud computing business bounded ahead. Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices rose 1.3% after reporting encouraging earnings.

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Google's parent company, Alphabet, rose 4.8% as a continued rebound in digital ad spending bolstered surprisingly good financial results.

A mix of companies that rely on direct consumer spending also gained ground. Domino's Pizza rose 2.5%.

Bond yields fell and weighed down banks, which rely on higher yields to charge more lucrative interest on loans. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.56% from 1.61% late Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase fell 2.2%,

U.S. crude oil prices fell 1.6% and pushed energy stocks lower. Exxon Mobil fell 1.9%.

Investors are busy reviewing the latest round of earnings from a variety of well-known companies. McDonalds rose 2.2% after reporting solid financial results as an easing of business restrictions helped sales growth. Coca-Cola rose 1.8% as sales grew along with the reopening of many venues and businesses over the summer.

General Motors fell 5.3% after reporting mixed financial results as the broader auto industry continues to face production problems because of a chip shortage. Rival Ford will report its results later Wednesday.

The steady flow of corporate report cards will continue Thursday with industrial bellwether Caterpillar and technology giant Apple. Amazon and Starbucks will also report their results on Thursday.

Outside of earnings, investors are also awaiting the latest update on U.S. economic growth when the Commerce Department releases its report on third-quarter gross domestic product on Thursday.

Markets in Asia closed lower as a Chinese newspaper warned that more real estate developers are likely to default on bonds. Investors are watching whether one of the biggest developers, Evergrande Group, can avoid a default on 2 trillion yuan ($310 billion) of debt.

European markets were mostly lower.

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