Stocks end mixed; Apple drags down tech shares, but Boeing soars

The Dow Jones industrial average advanced 30.06 points, or 0.2%, to 18,199.33.

By Associated Press

Oct. 26, 2016 2:50 PM PT

U.S. stocks dodged bigger losses and finished barely lower Wednesday. Healthcare companies fell and Apple pulled technology companies down, but banks rose.

Earlier in the day, stocks had appeared to be headed for a second day of notable losses, but they recovered some of that lost ground in late trading. Weak earnings for major companies hurt real estate investment trusts and healthcare companies. Tech stocks slid as investors were unimpressed with Apple’s latest results. Banks continued to report strong earnings, and Boeing boosted industrial companies.

Stocks haven’t made many big moves the last two weeks. “Trading volume has really dropped off,” said Scott Wren, a senior global equity strategist at the Wells Fargo Investment Institute. He said investors are being cautious as they wait for the outcome of November’s election.

The Dow Jones industrial average advanced 30.06 points, or 0.2%, to 18,199.33. In early trading it was down more than 100 points. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 3.73 points, or 0.2%, to 2,139.43. The Nasdaq composite sank 33.13 points, or 0.6%, to 5,250.27.

Although individual companies might rise or fall based on their earnings, Wren said investors don’t care much whether overall corporate profits rise or fall this quarter. Earnings have been falling for more than a year, but the drops are getting smaller.

“All the market wants in terms of earnings is a continuation of a pattern this year of quarter-to-quarter improvement,” he said. Apple shares sank 2.2% to $115.59 after it reported another drop in iPhone sales. The company gets about two-thirds of its revenue from the iPhone, and some investors are worried it depends too much on its marquee product. The company expects sales to start growing again in the holiday season after a recent slump.

The losses for Apple, by far the biggest company in the S&P 500, sent tech stocks lower. That canceled out big jumps in Akamai Technologies and Juniper Networks, which each surged more than 10% after strong results.

Edwards Lifesciences dived 17.1% to $94.25 after the Irvine medical device maker reported disappointing sales of heart devices and forecast another shortfall in the current quarter. Medical lab operator Laboratory Corp. of America sank 8.6% to $126.46 after a disappointing report. Drug maker Merck gave up most of its gains from the previous day, falling 1.7% to $60.87.

Financial firms continued to report strong third-quarter results. Ohio-based regional bank Huntington Bancshares’ stock rose 5% to $10.70, and insurer Chubb rose 3.7% to $127.

Boeing climbed 4.7% to $145.54 after the company raised its forecast for earnings, revenue and plane deliveries. Boeing was responsible for all the Dow’s gain.

Simon Property Group, which owns more than 100 shopping malls around the country, slumped 4.5% to $188.38 after analysts worried about its performance, including lower income from stores that have been open for more than a year. That counteracted solid earnings.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.79% from 1.76%.

Mondelez, the maker of Oreo cookies, Cadbury chocolate and Trident gum, climbed 3.6% to $44.32 after reporting a bigger profit than analysts expected.

Southwest Airlines slid 8.5% to $38.40 after it gave a weak revenue forecast for the rest of the year. Ticket prices have been falling for two years, and Southwest said prices are still “soft.” Other airlines including American and United also traded lower.

The price of oil fell for the third day in a row. U.S. crude fell 78 cents, or 1.6%, to $49.18 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 81 cents, or 1.6%, to $49.98 a barrel.

Chipotle Mexican Grill dropped 9.3% to $368.02, its lowest price in three years, after it reported that its sales fell for the fourth quarter in a row and came in weaker than analysts expected. The company continued to struggle in its efforts to win back customers after food safety scares.

Drug maker Mylan fell 1.6% to $38.08 after Kaleo Pharmaceuticals said it will resume selling its emergency allergy shot Auvi-Q next year. That would mean more competition for Mylan’s EpiPen. Auvi-Q was taken off the market last year because of the potential for inaccurate dosing, leaving EpiPen without any direct competition.

Mylan’s stock is down 22% since mid-August as the company has come under fire for repeatedly raising the price of the EpiPen over the last decade and for overcharging the government for the shot.

Wholesale gasoline slid 2 cents to $1.48 a gallon. Heating oil fell 1 cent to $1.55 a gallon. Natural gas fell 4 cents to $2.73 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold fell $7 to $1,266.60 an ounce. Silver fell 15 cents to $17.63 an ounce. Copper was little changed at $2.15 a pound.

The dollar inched up to 104.54 yen from 104.22 yen. The euro rose to $1.0906 from $1.0892.

The FTSE 100 of Britain dropped 0.8%, Germany’s DAX lost 0.4%, and the CAC 40 in France gave up 0.1%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 edged up 0.2%, but Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1% and South Korea’s Kospi sank 1.1%.

ALSO:

NFL ratings take a hit, and TV networks scramble to learn why

Sunrun partners with LG to provide residential electricity storage

Las Vegas casinos love Chinese gamblers. So these guys built a casino just for them.

UPDATES:

2:50 p.m.: This article was updated with closing prices, analysis and additional market information.

1:10 p.m.: This article was updated with the close of markets.

8:55 a.m.: This article was updated with more recent prices and additional market information.

This article was originally published at 7:10 a.m.