US Stocks Dip in Early Trading

NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks are mostly lower in early trading Thursday after a big rally the day before. Mining companies fell along with the price of gold and copper, while a proposed Congressional budget deal sent solar power companies higher. Indexes jumped Wednesday after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average declined 66 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,680 as of 10:18 a.m. Eastern. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 11points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,061. The Nasdaq composite index lost nine points, or 0.2 percent, to 5,062.

FED GAINS FADE: Stocks jumped Wednesday after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates, a long-expected vote of confidence in the U.S. economy. Investors were encouraged that the Fed emphasized that further increases will be gradual. The Fed hadn't raised interest rates since 2006. The S&P 500 finished the day 1.5 percent higher.

FEDEX DELIVERS: Shipping company FedEx said its quarterly profit grew as online shopping increased and costs in its express-delivery business came down. FedEx also said it thinks holiday shipments will rise by more than 12 percent from a year ago. FedEx rose $4.05, or 2.7 percent, to $152.88.

AVON GETS A CALL: Avon Products rose after the beauty products retailer said it will sell its North American business to Cerberus Capital Management for $170 million. Cerberus will also invest $435 million in the remaining Avon business. Avon gained 31 cents, or 7.5 percent, to $4.40.

MINERS SLIDE: The price of gold sank $26.30, or 2.4 percent, to $1,050.50 an ounce and copper fell 3 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $2.04 a pound. Those canceled out gains from Wednesday. Newmont Mining dropped $1.42, or 7.4 percent, to $17.66 and Freeport-McMoRan lost 36 cents, or 5.4 percent, to $6.33.

SOLAR POWER SHINES: Solar power stocks continued to rise after Congress agreed to extend a federal tax credit for commercial and residential solar products. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said a budget deal between Democrats and Republicans will extend the 30 percent credit through 2019.

SolarCity gained $2.32, or 4.3 percent, to $56.01 and Sunrun added 81 cents, or 7 percent, to $12.44. Thestocks are up 50 percent and 58 percent this week, respectively. First Solar lost $1.16, or 1.8 percent, to $64.47 and is up 17 percent this week.

PANDORA: Streaming music company Pandora Media surged. A panel of copyright judges raised the amount that streaming companies like Pandora have to pay to record labels, but less than many had expected. Pandora jumped $2.36, or 17.6 percent, to $15.80.

CEREAL SLIDE: Cheerios maker General Mills delivered a mixed earnings report, and its shares lost $2.03, or 3.4 percent, to $57.16.

EUROPE: Germany's DAX rose 2.8 percent while the CAC-40 in France rose 1.7 percent. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares rose 0.9 percent.

ASIA'S DAY: Japan's Nikkei 225 jumped 1.6 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.8 percent. South Korea's Kospi added 0.4 percent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 1.5 percent. China's Shanghai Composite gained 1.8 percent.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude dipped 58 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $34.94 a barrel in New York. U.S. oil fell almost 5 percent on Wednesday. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, picked up a penny to $37.42 a barrel in London. Natural gas, which has fallen to 16-year lows, rose 4 cents to $1.83 per 1,000 cubic feet.

BONDS, CURRENCIES: U.S. government bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.25 percent from 2.30 percent late Wednesday. The euro dropped to $1.0845 from $1.0970. The dollar rose to 122.66 yen from 121.85 yen.

(KA)