Stock indexes close mixed, little changed
The markets started Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014, where they ended the day before -- mixed. Trader Peter Tuchman was watching trades this past week. (Jan. 17, 2014) Credit: AP
The Standard & Poor's 500 index eked out its second small gain of the week Wednesday as investors pored over the latest earnings reports.
Norfolk Southern climbed after the railroad company said its fourth-quarter profit rose 24 percent, better than analysts had forecast. TE Connectivity, an electronics company, was the biggest gainer in the S&P 500 after its earnings beat analysts' expectations and the company posted a strong earnings outlook for the second quarter.
But there were also some high-profile disappointments.
IBM fell after the computing company reported lower-than-expected revenue in the period. AMD slumped after the chipmaker's first-quarter revenue outlook rattled investors.
Companies are still increasing their earnings and are forecast to log record quarterly profits for the period, but much of the improvement in recent years has come from cutting costs. As the economy strengthens, investors are increasingly looking for evidence that companies can increase revenue.
The S&P 500 index rose 0.06 percent to 1,844.86. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 41.10 points to 16,373.34. The Nasdaq composite climbed 0.41 percent to 4,243. -- AP
Sarra Sounds Off Ep. 35: EI baseball, girls lacrosse and plays of the week On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," we look at East Islip baseball's inspirational comeback story, Jared Valluzzi has the plays of the week and Tess Ferguson breaks down the top defensive players in girls lacrosse.
Sarra Sounds Off Ep. 35: EI baseball, girls lacrosse and plays of the week On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," we look at East Islip baseball's inspirational comeback story, Jared Valluzzi has the plays of the week and Tess Ferguson breaks down the top defensive players in girls lacrosse.
