Stocks Barely Budge As S&P Holds 2,000 -- U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Wall Street was quiet on Wednesday as the major averages bounced around the unchanged mark for most of the session.

The S&P 500 failed to extend record highs after positing its first close above 2,000 on Tuesday.

The S&P 500 added a fraction to 2,000.12, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 15.31 points, or less than 0.1%, to 17,122.01. The Nasdaq declined 1.02 point to 4,569.62.

Traders yawned at a mixed bag of corporate earnings on a day without any first-tier economic data from the U.S.

Apple (AAPL) gained 1.2 percent after Bloomberg News reported the company's will launch its biggest-yet iPad early in 2015.

Facebook (FB) was downgraded to neutral from buy at Janney Capital. Shares were up fractionally.

Jewelery retailer Tiffany & Co. (TIF) said its second-quarter profit rose from last year. Growth in sales and a higher gross margin benefited the bottom line. Results beat expectations and the company raised its full-year forecast. Shares of Tiffany are up 1.2% on the news.

After the closing bell on Tuesday, semiconductor company Analog Devices (ADI) reported an increase in its quarterly profit, boosted by 8% revenue growth. The company provided an upbeat forecast for the current quarter. Still, shares of Analog Devices are down 3.2%.

Smith & Wesson (SWHC) declined 13 percent after the gun manufacturer trimmed its full-year profit forecast.

Clothing retailer Guess (GES) shares tumbled 9 percent after-hours upon reporting disappointing earnings.

Mall rival Express (EXPR) jumped 12 percent after posting earnings above expectiations.

Looking overseas, Asian stocks rose broadly on Wednesday, bolstered by the overnight gains on Wall Street. Chinese shares ended a choppy session marginally higher. Japanese shares ended nearly flat, with the Nikkei index edging up 0.1%.

European stocks were unable to extend recent gains on Wednesday following more downbeat consumer news out of Germany, the region's economic engine. Germany finished lower by 0.2%. France and the U.K. posted slight gains.

Looking ahead, the Commerce Department's second estimate of gross domestic product will likely confirm Thursday that increased consumer spending helped the U.S. economy grow 4 percent in the second quarter.

The Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index is due on Friday.