US stocks mixed as earnings season winds down
Wall Street stocks moved in opposite directions on Wednesday, digesting another round of mixed earnings in a quarter that has seen solid but unspectacular corporate results. "I think that companies did a nice job of outpacing their Q1 expectations. But I did notice that earnings estimates for the year for 2024 really haven't changed much," said Jack Ablin of Cresset Capital, adding that companies aren't reporting "much earnings growth." The Dow Jones finished up 0.4 percent at 39,056. The S&P 500 was flat at 5,187, while the Nasdaq declined 0.2 percent to 16,302. Stocks finished little changed on Tuesday after three up days in which markets embraced Federal Reserve comments that further interest rate hikes were unlikely. A handful of prominent earnings reports have commanded focus in a week with few major economic reports following last week's heavy calendar that included April jobs data and a Federal Reserve decision. Among individual companies, Uber dropped 5.7 percent after reporting a US$654 million loss, while rival ride-hailing company Lyft jumped 7.1 percent after topping estimates, saying it sees solid demand growth. Also higher was Reddit, which advanced 3.9 percent as it posted a 48 percent jump in revenues to US$243 million. The social media company said higher costs were driven by expenses for its initial public offering. (AFP)