US: Stocks end mostly higher on solid earnings

[New York] US stocks finished mixed Tuesday following a round of mostly solid corporate earnings as the market shifted from a three-day slump.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 5.88 points (0.04 per cent) to 16,315.19.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 2.96 (0.16 per cent) to 1,877.70, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose a more robust 13.52 (0.32 per cent) to 4,227.17 US stocks were pummeled in the prior three sessions, with the S&P 500 losing nearly five per cent during that period on rising global growth fears.

Analysts said the market was primed for a shift on the belief that stocks were oversold in the short run.

Dow member JPMorgan Chase, the biggest US bank by assets, dropped 0.3 per cent as third-quarter earnings of US$1.36 per share missed analyst expectations by two cents on mixed results across business units.

Citigroup rose 3.2 per cent as third-quarter earnings came in at US$1.15 per share, three cents above analyst estimates following a nearly 10 per cent rise in revenues. The bank is ending consumer banking in 11 markets, including Japan.

Wells Fargo, another giant bank, reported a 2.0 per cent rise in earnings to US$5.4 billion in results that met expectations. Shares fell 2.7 per cent.

Dow member Johnson & Johnson fell 2.1 per cent despite the health care-products firm's third-quarter earnings of US$1.66 per share, well above the US$1.44 projected by analysts.

Energy stocks were bruised by a nearly five per cent fall in US oil prices.

Dow member Chevron slid 2.0 per cent, ConocoPhillips fell 2.8 per cent and oil services company Schlumberger lost 2.2 per cent.

Airline stocks, which have suffered on concerns about the spread of the Ebola virus, rallied. American Airlines soared 10.3 per cent, while Delta Air Lines shot up 6.1 per cent.

The bond market, which was closed Monday for a holiday, rallied sharply as investors sought their relative safety amid rising global growth concerns, pushing yields up to their highest levels in more than a year.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 2.21 per cent from 2.31 per cent Friday, its lowest point since June 2013.

The 30-year bond's yield declined to 2.96 per cent from 3.04 per cent, crossing below 3.0 per cent for the first time since May 2013. AFP