Stocks Opened Lower on Tepid Earnings

U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Wednesday as the U.S. corporate earnings season hit its peak, with a handful of companies reporting lackluster results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 14.19 points, or 0.06%, to 23,427.57. The S&P 500 lost 6.27 points, or 0.24%, to 2,562.86. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 15.01 points, or 0.23%, to 6,583.42.

Oil prices lost some ground Wednesday, as investors prepared for the release of weekly data on U.S. inventory levels due later today. West Texas Intermediate futures were trading down 0.5% at $52.20 a barrel. Brent crude was down 0.4%, to $58.12 a barrel.

New orders for key U.S.-made capital goods increased more than expected in September and shipments rose for an eighth straight month, pointing to robust business spending that should help to mitigate the impact on the economy from the hurricanes. The Commerce Department said on Wednesday non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, rose 1.3 percent last month after an upwardly revised 1.3 percent increase in August.

Sprint Corp (S) reported a narrower quarterly loss on Wednesday than analysts expected. It reported a net loss of $48 million, or 1 cent per share, in the second quarter ended Sept. 30, compared to a loss of $142 million, or 4 cents per share, a year earlier. Net operating revenue was $7.93 billion, down from $8.25 billion in the year-earlier period.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) topped Wall Street estimates for the quarter. The company reported third-quarter net income of $71 million, or 7 cents a share, compared with a loss of $406 million, or 50 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings were 10 cents a share. Revenue rose to $1.64 billion from $1.31 billion in the year-ago period.