U.S. stocks edged lower in morning trading Wednesday, as investors weighed the latest batch of corporate earnings and monitored a second day of Congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. Utilities stocks were among the biggest decliners.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average fell eight points, or 0.1 percent, to 18,200 as of 11:12 a.m. Eastern. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dipped two points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,112. The Nasdaq composite was down less than one point at 4,967.
FED FACTOR: The Dow and S&P 500 closed at record highs on Tuesday after investors were encouraged by remarks from Yellen suggesting that the Fed was not in a hurry to raise interest rates. Yellen noted that the job market is still healing and inflation is low. Lower interest rates make borrowing easier and tend to be a plus for financial markets.
THE QUOTE: “The second day of the Fed chair’s congressional testimony tends to be a repeat of the first day, so I’m not sure we’ll get new information,” said David Lebovitz, global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. “The market hit a high, so people are consolidating a little bit.”
BIG DECLINER: Chesapeake Energy slumped 11.1 percent after the natural gas company’s fourth-quarter results missed analysts’ expectations. The company also said it plans to spend less this year. The stock was the biggest decliner in the S&P 500, sliding $2.20 to $17.68.
CONTROL, ALT, DELETE: Hewlett-Packard tumbled 9.6 percent a day after the computer and printer maker reported fiscal first-quarter sales that fell short of Wall Street’s forecasts. The stock lost $3.71 to $34.78.
CREAKY RESULTS: Shares in Lumber Liquidators Holdings slid 21 percent after it reported fourth-quarter results that came in below analysts’ expectations. The hardwood floors retailer fell $14.43 to $54.50.
IMPROVING, TOO: A day after Home Depot posted strong earnings, rival home-improvement retailer Lowe’s said its profit and revenue increased in the fourth quarter. Lowe’s was down 18 cents to $74.47.
DOLLAR DOES IT: Shares in Discount retailer Dollar Tree rose 3.1 percent after the company reported fiscal fourth-quarter results that surpassed Wall Street’s expectations. The stock rose $2.41 to $79.88.
SECTOR VIEW: Six of the 10 sectors in the S&P 500 moved lower, with utilities stocks sliding the most. Consumer discretionary stocks led among the gainers.
OVERSEAS MARKETS: In Europe, France’s CAC 40 was down 0.3 percent, while Germany’s DAX slipped 0.1 percent. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares dipped 0.3 percent from its record closing high on Tuesday. In Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 edged down 0.1 percent, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3 percent. Hong Kong Hang Seng gained 0.1 percent. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.7 percent.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 37 cents to $49.63 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell 17 cents on Tuesday to $49.28.
BONDS: U.S. government bond prices were little changed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note held steady at 1.98 percent.