Mixed earnings news leaves stocks mostly lower

U.S. stocks are ending mostly lower as big companies turn in a mixed batch of earnings results.

Harley-Davidson dropped 10 percent Tuesday after its earnings fell short of analysts’ forecasts.

Kimberly-Clark jumped 5 percent. The maker of Huggies diapers and Kleenex tissues reported income and revenue that easily beat analysts’ forecasts.

The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 85 points, or 0.5 percent, to 17,949.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost three points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,097.

The Nasdaq composite bucked the downward trend, climbing 19 points, or 0.4 percent, to 5,014.

The price of oil fell $1.12 to close at $55.26 a barrel in New York

Government bond prices edged lower. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.91 percent.