US stocks end mostly higher on solid earnings

Trader Michael Zicchinolfi, foreground, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014. US stocks finished mixed Tuesday following a round of mostly solid corporate earnings as the market shifted from a three-day slump. AP

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 percent) to 16,315.19.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 2.96 (0.16 percent) to 1,877.70, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose a more robust 13.52 (0.32 percent) to 4,227.17

US stocks were pummeled in the prior three sessions, with the S&P 500 losing nearly five percent 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 percent as third-quarter earnings of $1.36 per share missed analyst expectations by two cents on mixed results across business units.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 percent from 2.31 percent Friday, its lowest point since June 2013.

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