U.S. stocks shifted mostly lower in afternoon trading Wednesday, giving up modest gains made earlier in the day. Investors were sizing up the latest company earnings and deal news. Several big companies, including General Motors and Boeing, delivered better earnings than Wall Street was expecting. Ferrari soared in its market debut.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average rose five points to 17,223 as of 2:13 p.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was down six points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,024. The Nasdaq composite fell 26 points, or 0.5 percent, to 4,854.
THE QUOTE: “Earnings are clearly the story today, and earnings, by and large, have been better than expected,” said Phil Orlando, chief equity strategist at Federated Investments.
SECTOR VIEW: Eight of the 10 sectors in the S&P 500 moved lower. Health care stocks fell the most, 1.1 percent. Industrial and consumer staples stocks rose.
IN GEAR: General Motors jumped 6.6 percent after the automaker delivered better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the third quarter. Strong North American sales helped GM overcome $1.5 billion in costs from its deadly ignition switch recall. The stock gained $2.21 to $35.69.
PRANCING HORSEPOWER: Ferrari, founded in 1929 by Italian sports driver Enzo Ferrari, surged 7.4 percent in its stock market debut. The shares, which priced at $52, added $3.83 to $55.83.
UNAPPETIZING RESULTS: Chipotle Mexican Grill tumbled 7.2 percent after the restaurant chain’s latest quarterly results fell short of Wall Street expectations. Chipotle’s shares slid $50.76 to $654.87.
IT’S A DEAL: KLA-Tencor shares vaulted 21.2 percent on news the semiconductor company is being acquired by Lam Research for about $10.6 billion. KLA-Tencor climbed $11.42 to $65.28. Shares in Lam Research gained $3.11, or 4.4 percent, to $73.14.
MARKETS OVERSEAS: In Europe, Germany’s DAX was up 0.9 percent, while the CAC-40 in France rose 0.5 percent. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares rose 0.1 percent. In China, the Shanghai Composite Index took a hit from selling of heavy industrials. The Shanghai benchmark fell 3.1 percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.9 percent and South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.2 percent. Hong Kong’s market was closed for a public holiday.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude fell $1 to $45.29 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell 77 cents to $47.94 a barrel in London.
BONDS AND CURRENCIES: U.S. government bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.02 percent from 2.07 percent the day before. The euro fell to $1.1338, while the dollar rose to 119.87 yen.
METALS: Precious and industrial metals futures ended lower. Gold fell $10.40 to $1,167.10 an ounce, silver slid 20 cents to $15.71 an ounce and copper slipped less than a penny to $2.36 a pound.
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