By Wallace Witkowski and Polya Lesova, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks eked out modest gains
Wednesday after earnings from Time Warner Inc., Wyndham Worldwide
Corp. and others reinforced a theme of steady improvement for
consumer companies. The Nasdaq Composite ended lower.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) ended a choppy trading
day up 7.22 points, or 0.1%, at 13,986.52. It had fallen as much as
66 points during the session.
The S&P 500 Index (SPX) ended up 0.83 point, or 0.1%, at
1,512.12. Sectors attractive to investors for defensive qualities
such as dividends -- telecoms and utilities -- led the index,
followed by consumer discretionary stocks.
"It's still an earnings-driven story," said Dan Greenhaus, chief
global strategist at BTIG. "Based on investor reaction to consumer
stocks, the consumer isn't doing all that bad."
Shares of Wyndham Worldwide Corp. (WYN) gained 6.8%, making it
the second-best on the S&P 500, after the hotel operator showed
a 45% improvement in profit for the fourth quarter.
Ralph Lauren Corp. (RL) shares rose nearly 6% after the apparel
retailer's quarterly earnings beat Wall Street expectations.
Time Warner Inc. (TWX) shares gained 4.1% after the media giant
reported a surge in fourth-quarter earnings. Chipotle Mexican Grill
Inc. (CMG) shares rose 5.7% after the company's earnings late
Tuesday.
The benchmark indexes spent part of the session lower, and the
Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) ended down 3.1 points, or 0.1%, at
3,168.48.
The choppy trading this week likely reflects some indecision
among investors after the year's strong start.
"A lot of people are looking at this market and saying, 'We're
up 6% in one month,' and they've seen no pause since December,"
said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Banyan Partners.
"People are a little on edge."
First Solar gets 'buy' boost
On the Dow, 3M Co (MMM) shares led gains for 19 out of 30
components. Shares of Walt Disney Co. (DIS) rose 0.4% following the
media conglomerate's earnings late Tuesday.
Blue-chip Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) ended up 0.5% after a media
report said Tuesday that H-P's board is studying a breakup of the
technology company.
Leading the S&P 500, shares of First Solar Inc. (FSLR) rose
7.3% after Citigroup initiated coverage on the company Wednesday
with a buy rating.
GameStop Corp. (GME) shares slumped 6%, the second-worst
performer on the S&P 500.
Earlier in the session, a drop in the euro (EURUSD) and European
stocks was attributed to polls out of Italy concerning Berlusconi's
popularity weeks before Italian elections.
While some polls noted a Berlusconi comeback, which would cause
concern among investors as it would likely jeopardize recent
Italian reforms, other polls came out to throw cold water on that
notion.
While that may have pressured the euro, using that excuse for a
weight on stocks is "kind of ridiculous," said Pavlik.
"It's just looking for an excuse," Pavlik said. "It's a lack of
commitment [from investors]."
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