Stocks Ended with Dow Drop, Apple Disappointed

The Dow dipped while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were edged up on Wednesday as a sharp drop in durable goods orders last month added to worries about slower U.S. economic activity and Apple’s results disappointed investors. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 43.16 points, or 0.29 percent, at 14,676.30. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 0.01 points, at 1,578.79. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 0.32 of a point, or 0.01 percent, at 3,269.65.

Apple Inc. second-quarter profit fell to $10.09 a share from $12.30 a year ago, while revenue rose 11% to $43.6 billion. Apple also raised its dividend by 15% to $3.05 a share and added $50 billion to its existing stock-buyback program.

Zynga Inc (ANGA) reported first-quarter revenue of $263.6 million on Tuesday, down 18 percent from the year-ago  quarter but above Wall Street’s depressed expectations. It reported bookings of $229.8 million, a 30 percent decline from a year ago.

Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) forecast third-quarter profit that may miss some analysts’ estimates. Revenue in the third quarter will rise to $5.8 billion to $6.3 billion, compared with an average analyst prediction of $5.88 billion. Net income in the second quarter, which ended on March 31, fell 16 percent to $1.87 billion, or $1.06 a share, from  $2.23 billion, or $1.28 a share, a year earlier. Sales increased 24 percent to $6.12 billion. Analysts on average had predicted earnings of $1.03 a share on sales of $6.09 billion.

Microsoft Corp will unveil its much-anticipated next-generation Xbox on May 21 following months of speculation the  company is gearing up to announce a new video game console this summer.