Apple, Southwest Struggle In Lackluster Session -- US Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks were mixed Wednesday as traders weighed a flurry of earnings news, including downbeat results from Apple and Southwest.

Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 30.27 points, or 0.2%, at 18,199.54.

The S&P 500 was down 3.72 points, or 0.2%, to close at 2,139.44, while the Nasdaq Composite Index shed 33.13 points, or 0.6%, to close at 5,250.27

Shares of Apple Inc. (AAPL) are falling after the iPhone maker released a mixed earnings report. The company's profit trumped Wall Street expectations, while revenues fell short. Apple's stock fell 2.2 percent.

Southwest (LUV) shares tumbled 8.5 percent, as the flier provided a downbeat outlook for revenue per available seat mile.

Home-improvement retailer Lowe's Cos. Inc. was hit with two downgrades. Shares fell 1.6 percent.

Boeing (BA) shares rallied after the plane maker raised its outlook.

Dec. WTI oil settles at $49.18/bbl, down 78 cents, or 1.6%.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that domestic crude supplies unexpectedly fell by 588,000 barrels in the week ended Oct. 21.

Analysts expected a small build.

The EIA data stands in stark contrast to yesterday's American Petroleum Institute (API) report showing that U.S. crude stocks rose by 4.8 million barrel.

Some new figures about the hosing market were released during early trading. Data showed that new home sales rose in September, though the increase was helped by revisions to figures from the previous month. The rate of sales came in below what economists had expected.

Data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce showed that new home sales rose 3.1 percent to an annual rate of 593,000. Economists had expected a rate of 601,000.