Wall Street edges higher in choppy trading after mixed bank results

An impasse over a Covid-19 stimulus bill in Washington also kept the mood in check

Goldman Sachs edged up as strength in its trading business helped quarterly profit surge 94 per cent. Bank of America shed 4.0 per cent after it missed revenue estimates and Wells Fargo declined 4.6 per cent as its profit fell short of forecasts.

The S&P 500 banks index dropped 1.3 per cent as the third-quarter earnings season took off amid improving expectations over the extent of the drop in overall profits for S&P 500 firms. Analysts now expect earnings to fall 18.9 per cent from a year, according to Refinitiv IBES data, versus a 25 per cent drop on July 1."People