US Stocks Start Mixed Wednesday

(AP) -- Stocks were mixed in early trading Wednesday, as investors dealt with a wave of company earnings reports. Wall Street is also turning its attention to Washington, where President Joe Biden will give a speech laying out his policy agenda.

The S&P 500 index was up 0.2% as of 10:05 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.5% and the Nasdaq was up 0.1%.

Investors had a lot to digest on Wednesday. Dozens of companies are reporting their quarterly results. After the closing bell, Wall Street will get reports from Apple, Facebook and Qualcomm.

Google's parent company, Alphabet. rose 6% after the company reported its profits doubled from a year earlier, helped by a surge of digital advertising revenue as more Americans shopped online during the pandemic. Advanced Micro Devices rose 2% as the chipmaker also beat expectations and raised its full-year outlook.

Spotify sank 10% after the music streaming company announced that subscriber growth had slowed more than expected.

Also on tap is President Joe Biden's speech to a joint session of Congress, which is expected to lay out several parts of his agenda such as increased infrastructure spending, likely higher taxes on the wealthy and higher funding for government programs. The $1.8 trillion program will also create universal access to pre-kindergarten schooling as well as provide support for child-care programs.

The Federal Reserve started a two-day policy meeting Tuesday. Investors expect the U.S. central bank to keep its key lending rate close to zero and inject more money into the financial system through bond purchases.