NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. stocks are falling Wednesday morning trading as tech stocks post sharp declines following weak results from Apple and Twitter. Utility companies are rising as bond yields fall.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average dipped 48 points, or 0.3 percent, to 17,942 as of 11:08 a.m. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 7 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,084. The Nasdaq composite index dropped 53 points, or 1.1 percent, to 4,835.
TECH TROUNCED: Apple fell $6.62, or 6.3 percent, to $97.73 after reporting its first decline in iPhone sales. Apple also reported its first decline in quarterly revenue since 2003 and forecast similar results in the current quarter. Twitter dropped $2.61, or 14.7 percent, to $1.14. The company’s first-quarter revenue fell short of expectations and its guidance disappointed investors.
MEDICAL DEVICES: Boston Scientific climbed $1.86, or 9.4 percent, to $21.55 after it swung to a profit in the first quarter, and earnings and sales were better than expected. It also raised its projections for the year.
OUT TO LUNCH: Buffalo Wild Wings tumbled $19.16, or 13.2 percent, to $125.46 after the chain’s sales fell short of analyst projections. Chipotle Mexican Grill fell $25.27, or 5.7 percent, to $420.65. Chipotle posted its first loss as a public company as sales plunged following an E. coli outbreak and Norovirus scare.
POWER PLAY: Utility companies rose as bond prices rose, bringing their yields lower and making stocks like utilities more appealing. NRG Energy added 35 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $14.90 and Edison International picked up 84 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $69.67.
OIL PRICES: The price of crude oil gave up an early gain after the U.S. government released its latest data on energy stockpiles. The Energy Information Administration said oil and gasoline stockpiles climbed last week. Early in the day oil prices reached to their highest level in almost six months.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 20 cents to $44.26 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international standard, was up 43 cents to $46.16 a barrel in London.
EBAY EXCITEMENT: E-commerce company eBay’s profit and sales were greater than expected, and it gave solid projections for the current quarter. The stock rose $1.09, or 4.5 percent, to $25.58.
DREAMING OF A DEAL: DreamWorks Animation rocketed $4.16, or 15.3 percent, to $31.28 on reports the company behind the “Shrek” and “Kung Fu Panda” franchises might be acquired by Comcast. Comcast stock lost 37 cents to $60.68.
OFF ROAD: Trucking company C.H. Robinson Worldwide slid $5.20, or 6.9 percent, to $70.51 after its first-quarter revenue fell far short of expectations.
ANTHEM OFF-KEY: Anthem, the second-largest U.S. health insurance company, reported strong results for the first quarter, but gave back some of its recent gains. It fell 4.64, or 3.2 percent, to $142.43. The stock is up more than 20 percent since early February.
U.S. STEEL FALLS: The steel maker took a loss that was larger than analysts had expected and its revenue missed estimates. Its stock gave up 57 cents, or 3.1 percent, to $17.92.
YAHOO TURNS TO STARBOARD: Struggling Internet company Yahoo will add four directors backed by activist investment firm Starboard Value to its board. That ends a potential proxy fight between Yahoo and Starboard. The new directors include Starboard CEO Jeffrey Smith. Two current Yahoo directors won’t run for new terms. Yahoo stock lost 36 cents, or 1 percent, to $36.75.
OVERSEAS: Germany’s DAX advanced 0.3 percent and the CAC-40 in France was 0.6 percent higher. Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.3 percent. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 closed 0.4 percent lower. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.2 percent.
CENTRAL BANKS: The Federal Reserve will wrap up a meeting Wednesday afternoon. It’s not expected to raise interest rates, but investors will be interested in the Fed’s views on the U.S. and global economies and if there’s any indication that borrowing costs may rise in June. The Bank of Japan could announce a new stimulus package on Thursday.
BONDS, CURRENCIES: Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell to 1.90 percent from 1.93 percent. The dollar fell to 111.17 yen from 111.41 yen. The euro rose to $1.1328 from $1.1291.
____
AP Markets Writer Marley Jay can be reached at http://twitter.com/MarleyJayAP His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/marley-jay