Stocks Drifted Lower amid Earnings, Economic Data

U.S. stocks drifted lower in the early trading on Wednesday as investors focused on the latest batch of corporate earnings and economic data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 9.22 points, or 0.03% , to 27,483.41. The S&P 500 dipped 1.32 points, or 0.04%, to 3,073.30. The Nasdaq composite declined 22.08 points, 0.26%, to 8,412.60.

Oil futures edged lower Wednesday after a report pointed to a bigger-than-expected inventory build in the U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery lost 25 cents, or 0.4%, to trade at $56.98 a barrel. January Brent crude gained shed 39 cents, or 0.6%, to $62.57 a barrel.

Non-farm labor productivity unexpectedly declined by 0.3% in the third quarter, as output rose 2.1% and was outpaced by a 2.4% increase in hours worked. Consensus economists had expected non-farm productivity to increase by 0.9% during the third quarter, after an upwardly revised 2.5% gain in the second-quarter.

he Mortgage Bankers’ Association reported Wednesday morning that mortgage applications edged lower by 0.1% for the week ending November 1, as Treasury yields fluctuated before dropping at the end of the week.

CVS Health Corp. (CVS) posted stronger-than-expected results on both the top- and bottom-lines, driven in large part by the Aetna health insurance business it bought last year.Net income rose to $1.53 billion, or $1.17 a share, from $1.39 billion, or $1.36 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted EPS came to $1.84. Total revenue grew to $64.81 billion from $47.49 billion.

Xerox (XRX) is considering making a cash-and-stock offer for HP (HPE), which has a market value of about $27 billion, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal citing people familiar with the matter.