US Stocks Mixed as Earnings Released

(AP) -- U.S. stock indexes are mixed in early trading Friday as Wall Street weighs another batch of corporate results from the summer earnings period.

The S&P 500 was up 0.2%, extending gains from a day earlier. The benchmark index remains on track for its first weekly loss in four weeks. A broad array of stocks rose, with health care companies and banks driving most of the gains, outweighing a decline in technology stocks and companies that rely on consumer spending. Treasury yields remained near their highest levels since June.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 6 points, or less than 0.1%, to 28,355 as of 10:14 a.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, was down 0.2%. European markets were broadly higher.

Trading on Wall Street has been choppy as investors keep an eye on the ongoing negotiations between Republican and Democractic leaders in Washington over another round of aid for businesses and millions of people who have lost their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic. The last round of supplemental aid for unemployed Americans expired at the end of July.

While House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have been negotiating daily this week on a possible aid package. On Thursday, Pelosi said that progress is still being made, but any compromise will likely face stiff resistance from Republicans in the Senate.

In their debate late Thursday, President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden managed a more substantive exchange than during their first raucous clash several weeks ago. There were no major market-moving surprises.

"The final U.S. presidential debate was less chaotic than the first but offered little new information to inform the result for markets," Stephen Innes of Axi said in a commentary. "Meanwhile, discussion relevant to the post-election economic outlook was limited, particularly from President Trump."

Big companies, meanwhile, continue to report profits for the summer that took a hit from the coronavirus-caused recession. But they're mostly not as bad as feared.

Barbie maker Mattel jumped 8.7% after its latest earnings blew past analysts' forecasts. Capital One Financial gained 4.2% after turning in robust results.

Some companies' results didn't live up to Wall Street's expectations. American Express was down 2.3% and chipmaker Intel sank 10.8%, the biggest decline in the S&P 500.

Drugmaker Gilead climbed 3.6% after U.S. regulators gave formal approval to its antiviral drug remdesivir to treat patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

Markets in Europe were moving higher. Germany's DAX gained 1%, while the CAC 40 in Paris rose 1.4% as investors welcomed strong corporate earnings from the likes of automaker Daimler and took in their stride a gloomy economic report. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 1.4% after Japan and the U.K. signed a trade agreement to replace the pact with the EU which will no longer apply after Britain's exit from the bloc.

Stock markets in Asia closed mostly higher.