Stocks on Wall Street see-sawed through a session noted for a stream of generally positive earnings from big-name technology, financial, and manufacturing companies.The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which hovered in a tight range all day, scraped in with
Stocks on Wall Street see-sawed through a session noted for a stream of generally positive earnings from big-name technology, financial, and manufacturing companies.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which hovered in a tight range all day, scraped in with a slight gain to close 7.86 points higher at 11,124.92.
United Technologies rose 3.7% after reporting a 20% rise in first-quarter profit driven by cost-cutting.
Boeing rose 3.9% despite reporting a a 15% drop in profit and a revenue decline. However, the jet maker said it anticipates additional aircraft orders this year and will decide in coming weeks wether to raise production of its 737 model.
The S&P 500 Index was down 0.1% to finish at 1205.94 while the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.2% to 2504.61, with Apple leaping 5.5% on its strong quarterly report.
The company’s profit soared 90% and handily beating analysts' expectations with strong sales of its iPhones and Macintosh computers.
Other markets: Europe down, Asia up
European markets generally weakened, as worries about Greece's ability to fund its debt continued to spook investors.
Greece's ASE Composite index dropped 1.3% to 1936.43 and bond yields jumped.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell 0.5% at 268.29. The U.'s FTSE 100 ended down 1.0% at 5723.43. France's CAC-40 lost 1.2% to 3977.67 and Frankfurt's DAX shed 0.5% to 6230.35.
Most Asian equity markets ended higher as solid earnings from Apple sparked a rally in technology stocks, while higher commodity prices boosted energy and gold plays.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average of 225 companies rose 1.7& to 11,090.05 and Korea's Kospi also climbed 1.7% to 1747.58,
China's Shanghai Composite rebounded after a string of recent losses to climb 1.8% 3033.28, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6% to 4954.27 and Taiwan's Taiex advanced 1.1% to 7990,53.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 0.5% to 21,510.93, weighed down by China Mobile shares after the company's weaker-than-expected first-quarter results. The heavyweight stock fell 1.6%.
Commodities: Oil down
Crude-oil futures dropped after inventories jumped in a government report, defying expectations that supplies would tighten. Oil inventories rose by 1.9 million barrels in the week ended April 16.
Light, sweet crude for June delivery fell 85USc, or 1%, to $US83 a barrel in New York, down from $US84.27 a barrel before the data.
The May contract expired on Tuesday at $US83.45 a barrel. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded $US1.16 higher at $US85.96 a barrel.
Currencies: Dollar up, euro down
The euro is under pressure as a widening Greek yield spread sparked renewed worries about its ability to finance its debt.
Commodity-related currencies such as the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars also struggled as oil prices and US equities wobbled.
The euro was at $US1.3399, from $US1.3443 late on Tuesday and at ¥124.98 from ¥125.23.
The US dollar is at ¥93.32 from ¥93.15 and at 1.0699 Swiss francs from 1.0683 francs.
The pound is at $US1.5400 from $US1.5371.
