Stocks Ended Slightly Lower

U.S. stocks closed modestly lower Wednesday, after spending most of the session wavering between small gains and losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 15.51 points, or 0.12%, to close at 12,571.91. The S&P 500 fell 0.89 point, or 0.07%, to end at 1,325.84 and the Nasdaq Composite closed at 2,814.23, down 12.29 points, or 0.43%.

President Barack Obama called Democratic and Republican leaders back to the White House on Wednesday for separate, bottom-line negotiations on how to prevent a disastrous government default — and perhaps cut staggering federal deficits as well.

EBay Inc reported better-than-expected quarterly results on Wednesday as the company’s main online Marketplace business showed signs of a turnaround and its PayPal unit continued to grow quickly. EBay said second-quarter net income was $283.4 million, or 22 cents per share. That compares to net income of $412 million, or 31 cents a share, in the same period a year earlier.

Top chipmaker Intel posted second-quarter revenue above expectations, defying investors’ concerns about slowing personal computer sales. Intel’s revenue in the June quarter was $13.1 billion, up 22 percent over the year-ago period and above the $12.83 billion expected by analysts, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

American Express Co said second quarter earnings rose, as customers spent more on their cards and the company’s processing revenue rose. The New York-based company posted quarterly earnings for common shareholders of $1.32 billion, or $1.10 a share, compared with $1.00 billion, or 84 cents a share, in the same quarter last year.

Wells Fargo & Co. has agreed to pay $85 million to settle civil charges that it falsified loan documents and pushed borrowers toward subprime mortgages with higher interest rates during the housing boom.