US stocks end in mixed mode for second straight day

IBM weighs on Dow following disappointing earnings and outlook

U.S. stocks closed mostly higher on Wednesday, 22 January 2014 after trading in a narrow range for the bulk of the session. Markets shrugged off largely disappointing earnings, but results from IBM weighed on the blue chips. Equities endured an uninspiring Wednesday session, which unfolded in similar fashion to Tuesday's affair. Like yesterday, the major averages ended mixed with the Dow Jones Industrial Average coming out on the losing end while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 eked out modest gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 41.10 points, or 0.3%, to 16,373.34, falling for the second day in a row. The Nasdaq Composite was the best performing index, gaining 17.24 points, or 0.4%, to 4,243. The S&P 500 was up 1.06 points at 1,844.86.

The Dow spent the entire session in the red as 19 of its 30 components registered losses. Industrial, technology and utilities sectors ended higher.

Disappointing results from IBM, the second-highest-priced Dow component, weighed on blue chips. Shares of IBM skidded 3.3% after the company reported fourth-quarter revenue that fell short of estimates and disappointed with its earnings outlook.

The next big scheduled economic event for the market place is next week's meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee (FOMC). Trading could remain subdued until the conclusion of the mid-week meeting.

In overnight news, reports said investor demand for a Spanish 10-year note was strong Wednesday. This follows good demand for sovereign bonds issued by Ireland and Portugal. Less than two years ago these European Union nations were on the verge of financial collapse. This news continues a trend of upbeat economic data coming out of the EU.

The Bank of Japan kept its monetary policy unchanged at its latest meeting that ended Wednesday. The BOJ has embarked on a very stimulative monetary policy that aims to get yearly inflation up to 2% in two years. Japan has been wracked by deflationary price pressures for many years.

Today's economic data at Wall Street was limited to the weekly MBA Mortgage Index, which rose 4.7% to follow last week's 11.9% increase.

Coach, the biggest decliner on the S&P 500, saw its shares slump 6% after the company said second-quarter sales fell 6%. Coach said its North America performance continues to disappoint.

Shares of United Technologies rose 1% after it reported fourth-quarter earnings fell 29% despite stronger revenue.

Shares in Netflix soared 14% in after-hours trading, following earnings that came well above analysts' forecasts. The video-streaming company added 2.3 million new U.S. subscribers during the past quarter.

Bullion prices ended lower by 0.3% on Wednesday, 22 January 2014. Gold futures suffered a loss on Wednesday for a second day in a row, with investors discouraged by a bearish call from yet another investment bank. There is a lack of major, markets-moving fundamental news this week, which is allowing technical trading to dominate.

Gold for February delivery fell $3.20, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,238.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, its lowest close in a week. March silver fell 3 cents, or 0.2%, to $19.84 an ounce after Tuesday's 2.1% drop.

Crude oil futures climbed toward $97 a barrel at Nymex on Wednesday, 22 January 2014 to score their highest settlement of the year so far. Prices rose as investors awaited upcoming U.S. crude inventory data and weighed the impact of the startup of TransCanada's Gulf Coast Pipeline.

Crude oil for March delivery, which became the front-month contract after February crude oil expired on Tuesday, advanced $1.76, or 1.9%, to settle at $96.73 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is due to release its oil inventory report for the week ended 17 January 2013 at 11 a.m. Eastern Time, a day late due to Monday's holiday. Market forecasts a decline of 1.9 million barrels in crude stockpiles. They expect gasoline inventories to climb by 1.7 million barrels and forecast a decline of 1.2 million barrels for distillates, which include heating oil.

Indian ADRs ended mostly higher on Wednesday. In the banking space, ICICI Bank rose 0.44% at $36.78 and HDFC Bank was down 0.72% at $34.70. In the IT space, Infosys jumped 1.59% at $61.49 and Wipro gained 0.97% at $13.52. In the other sectors, Tata Motors advanced 1.85% at $31.33 and Dr Reddys Laboratories was down 0.07% at $43.26.

Tomorrow, weekly initial claims will be reported at 8:30 ET while the November FHFA Housing Price Index will be released at 9:00 ET. December Existing Home Sales and Leading Indicators will cross the wires at 10:00 ET.

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