US: Stocks flat following mixed earnings

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks finished little changed Wednesday following mixed corporate earnings and a second day of congressional testimony from Fed Chair Janet Yellen.

At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 18.233.09, up 13.90 points (0.08 per cent), edging to a record for the second day in a row.

The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 1.78 (0.08 per cent) to 2,113.70, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.98 (0.02 per cent) at 4,967.14.

TJX, which owns Marshall's, TJ Maxx and other discount apparel and home-goods chains, rose 3.3 per cent after announcing it would raise its dividend and buy back more shares following strong earnings.

But technology giant Hewlett-Packard sank 9.9 per cent after warning of a big drag from the strong dollar as it reported lower earnings.

Markets shrugged off Ms Yellen's second day of testimony, to a House of Representatives panel, after her remarks Tuesday had helped lift the Dow and the S&P 500 to record closes.

"Fed Chair Janet Yellen sang the same song, but second verse, as she testified to the House today and reiterated rate increases are not imminent," said a note from Wells Fargo Advisors.

AFP