Stocks Mixed Early Wednesday

Stocks Mixed Early Wednesday

NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stock indexes are slightly lower Wednesday morning as banks and technology companies slip. Household goods makers, including companies that sell snacks and drinks, are bouncing back from losses a day ago. The Dow Jones industrial average remains near record highs, but short of the 20,000-point milestone.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow dipped 18 points, or 0.1 percent, to 19,956 as of 10 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 2 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,268. The Nasdaq composite fell 7 points, or 0.1 percent, to 5,476. More stocks rose than fell on the New York Stock Exchange.

LOST IN THE MAIL: Shipping company FedEx said its quarterly expenses climbed and its earnings fell short of Wall Street estimates. The company's stock lost $5.42, or 2.7 percent, to $193.32.

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LOGGING OFF: Social networking site Twitter slumped after Chief Technology Officer Adam Messinger said he's leaving the company. The struggling company has seen a number of executives leave recently. Former Chief Operating Officer Adam Bain left in November. In October Twitter said it would eliminate 9 percent of its workforce. Twitter fell 68 cents, or 3.8 percent, to $17.25.

THE SHOE FITS: Athletic apparel maker Nike gained 19 cents to $51.98 after its second-quarter profit and sales came in stronger than analysts expected. Nike is by far the worst performer on the Dow this year, as its stock has tumbled 17 percent in part thanks to competition with Under Armour. Investors fear the rivalry is affecting both companies.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude gained 13 cents to $53.43 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international benchmark, lost 2 cents to $55.33 a barrel in London. Energy companies made modest gains after two days of small losses. Among energy stocks, ConocoPhillips added 54 cents, or 1 percent, to $52.09 and EQT rose $1.58, or 2.4 percent, to $67.23.

CURRENCY: The dollar declined to 117.23 yen from 118.04 yen. The euro rose to $1.0443 from $1.0377.

BONDS: Bond prices inched higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dipped to 2.55 percent from 2.56 percent.

OVERSEAS: Britain's FTSE 100 lost 0.2 percent while the CAC-40 in France gave up 0.5 percent. Germany's DAX was little changed. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng advanced 0.4 percent. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 shed 0.3 percent. The South Korean Kospi retreated 0.2 percent.

(KA)

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