Stocks Opened Mixed amid Earnings

U.S. stocks opened mixed on Wednesday after several major corporate bellwethers called out a slowing global growth environment for crimping their quarterly earnings results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 41.10 points, or 0.15% to 26,829.20. The S&P 500 retreated 1.74 points, or 0.06%, to 2,994.25. The Nasdaq Composite fell 18.12 points, or 0.22%, to 8,086.18.

Oil futures headed lower on Wednesday as investors awaited a closely followed weekly report on U.S. inventories. December WTI crude shed 53 cents, or 1%, at $53.95 a barrel. Brent crude for December lost 47 cents, or 0.8%, to $59.24 a barrel.

Boeing (BA) reported third quarter earnings on Wednesday that missed consensus expectations, as fallout from the aerospace giant’s idled 737 Max plane continued to weigh on results. It reported third-quarter revenue of $20.0 billion, GAAP earnings per share of $2.05 and core earnings per share (non-GAAP) of $1.45. Boeing recorded operating cash flow of ($2.4) billion and paid $1.2 billion of dividends.

Caterpillar (CAT) on Wednesday posted a major miss on quarterly earnings and sales. The company reported that revenue fell about 6% to $12.76 billion from $13.51 billion a year earlier. The company lowered its full-year profit outlook for the year to between $10.90 and $11.40 a share, compared with its previous range of $12.06 to $13.06 a share.

Chipmaker Texas Instruments (TXN) on Tuesday posted an estimates-missing 11% decline in quarterly revenue and forecasted fourth-quarter sales far below consensus expectations.