Stocks Mostly Higher Early Wednesday
(AP) -- U.S. stock indexes edged mostly higher in early trading Wednesday following a mixed batch of quarterly earnings results from General Motors, Boeing, Coca-Cola and other companies. Gains in technology and health care stocks outweighed losses in banks and other sectors. Investors also had their eye on Washington ahead of trade talks between the U.S. and European Union officials.
KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 index rose 2 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,822 as of 10:04 a.m. Eastern Time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 58 points, or 0.2 percent, to 25,183. The Nasdaq composite added 16 points, or 0.2 percent, to 7,857. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks, which was coming off its worst day in a month, picked up 4 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,684.
TRADE TALKS: President Donald Trump was scheduled to meet at the White House later Wednesday with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and other European officials as their trade dispute threatens to spread to automobile production. The EU officials warned ahead of the talks that if Trump goes ahead and puts duties on imports of cars from Europe, they will respond with $20 billion in tariffs on U.S. goods.
PUMPING THE BRAKES: General Motors slumped 6.8 percent to $36.81 after the automaker cut its outlook for the year, mostly due to tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. The diminished expectations overshadowed GM's strong second-quarter results. The news also weighed on other U.S. automakers. Ford, which was due to report quarterly results Wednesday afternoon, slid 3.6 percent to $10.19.
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NOT VERY FRESH: Tupperware plunged 13 percent to $35.46 after the company's revenue came up short of financial analysts' estimates.
HIGH FLYER: Boeing slid 2.8 percent to $348.10, despite reporting quarterly results that exceeded Wall Street's expectations.
QUENCHED: Shares in Coca-Cola rose 1.8 percent to $46.06 after the beverage company served up quarterly earnings and revenue that topped analysts' forecasts. The company noted that its diet sodas are selling better after undergoing some image changes.
CHECKUP ACED: HCA Healthcare jumped 7.3 percent to $116.02 after the hospital operator turned in quarterly results that were better than analysts were expecting.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 25 cents to $68.77 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 42 cents to $73.86 per barrel in London.
BOND YIELDS: Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 2.94 percent from 2.95 percent late Tuesday.
CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 111 yen from 111.22 yen on Tuesday. The euro strengthened to $1.1709 from $1.1683.
MARKETS OVERSEAS: In Europe, Germany's DAX lost 0.6 percent and France's CAC 40 dropped 0.2 percent. London's FTSE 100 slid 0.8 percent. Major indexes in Asia finished unevenly. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 0.5 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.9 percent. Seoul's Kospi fell 0.3 percent. Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 declined 0.3 percent.
(BE)