Stock Gains Limited to Dow Industrials

Weak earnings reports from big U.S. companies are sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 index slightly lower at the close on Wednesday, but the Dow Jones industrial average is eking out a gain. The Dow industrials rose 58.73 points, or 0.47%, to 12,676.05. The S&P 500 index fell 0.42 point to 1,337.89. The Nasdaq Composite fell 8.75 points, or 0.31%, to 2,854.24.

Visa Inc (NYS:V), the world’s largest credit and debit-card network, posted a third-quarter net loss as it set money aside to cover litigation costs, and the company authorized a new $1 billion share repurchase program. The company reported a net loss of $1.8 billion, or $2.74 per Class A share, compared with a profit of $1.0 billion, or $1.43 per Class A share, a year earlier.

Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ:ZNGA) reported Wednesday afternoon that it swung to a loss for the second quarter, with adjusted results missing Wall Street’s expectations. For the period ended June 30, Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA) reported a net loss of $22.8 million, or 3 cents a share, compared to net income of $1.4 million, or break-even on a per-share basis, for the same period last year. Earnings on an adjusted basis came in at $4.5 million, or 1 cent per share, for the recent period. Revenue rose 19% to $332 billion.

Google Inc, Amazon.com Inc, eBay Inc, Facebook Inc and other big Internet companies are starting a trade association to handle political and regulatory issues in Washington, a person close to the group said on Wednesday.

Symantec has fired its CEO, Enrique Salem, and replaced him with Chairman Steve Bennett.The computer security and data storage company said Wednesday that the move is effective immediately. Bennett, who will stay on as chairman, says it was in Symantec’s “best interests” to change CEOs.

The House voted Wednesday to give Congress greater scrutiny over the monetary policy decisions of the Federal Reserve, approving legislation sponsored by longtime Fed nemesis Rep. Ron Paul.