US: Stocks steady after midday Trump swoon

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks finished little changed Tuesday, rebounding from a mid-session swoon sparked by unease over Donald Trump Jr's interactions with Russian interests.

US stocks started out in wait-and-see mode ahead of US Federal Reserve Chair Janet's Yellen's congressional testimony Wednesday and Thursday, and major banking earnings on Friday.

But stocks tumbled at midday when President Donald Trump's oldest son released emails showing he embraced Russia's efforts to support his father's presidential campaign, reviving worries that White House's Russia travails could derail the agenda.

But markets steadied soon after as investors concluded the Russia story "is still pretty contained," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed essentially flat at 21,409.07.

The broad-based S&P 500 dipped 0.1 per cent to end at 2,425.53, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.3 per cent to 6,193.30.

Strong performers in the Dow included Boeing and General Electric, each gaining more than one percent.

PepsiCo lost 0.5 per cent after reporting a five per cent rise in second-quarter earnings to US$2.1 billion. Revenues rose two per cent to US$15.7 billion.

Snap, the parent of photo messaging app Snapchat, dropped 9.0 per cent to close below US$15.50 following a downgrade from Morgan Stanley, which expressed concern at the progress of competitor Instagram. That put it below the US$17 price for its initial public offering in March.

AFP