NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Technology gains propelled the Nasdaq on Tuesday, while weakness in telecom pressured the Dow industrials.
After-hours earnings reports Tuesday from Amazon.com and Amgen were mostly positive, but the stocks sold off, providing mixed indications for Wednesday's early trading. A glut of additional earnings reports are due out before the bell Wednesday.
The Nasdaq composite (up 15.76 to 1940.90, Charts) gained 0.8 percent Tuesday, the Standard & Poor's 500 (up 1.35 to 1046.03, Charts) index gained 0.1 percent and the Dow Jones industrial average (down 30.30 to 9747.64, Charts) lost 0.3 percent.
Solid earnings from Texas Instruments gave tech investors a reason to jump in, but disappointing results from SBC Communications and an accounting problem that hurt AT&T's results pressured the Dow.
After the close, Amazon.com (AMZN: down $0.24 to $59.35, Research, Estimates) reported earnings of 11 cents per share, a penny better than expected and up from breakeven results a year earlier. However, some analysts said that the company's forecast was on the light side. Biotech Amgen (AMGN: up $1.76 to $63.65, Research, Estimates) reported earnings of 53 cents per share after the close, two cents better than expected and up from 34 cents a year earlier.
Both stocks fell more than 1 percent in after-hours trade, a trend that has been consistent of late, with good earnings not necessarily translating into higher stocks.
"The market has had a big run over the last few months on expectations of good earnings," said Sarat Sethi, portfolio manager at Douglas C. Lane & Associates. "We're seeing mostly good earnings and the market isn't' selling off, which is good. But I think we're at a point where we're trying to figure out what the next growth driver is for the next six months to a year."
Wednesday morning brings earnings from (CNN/Money parent) Time Warner (TWX: Research, Estimates), Eastman Kodak (EK: Research, Estimates), Eli Lilly (LLY: Research, Estimates), J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM: Research, Estimates), Lucent Technologies (LU: Research, Estimates), McDonald's (MCD: Research, Estimates), Merck (MRK: Research, Estimates) and Schering-Plough (SGP: Research, Estimates).
(For the week's most significant earnings reports, click here.)
TI impresses
Texas Instruments (TXN: up $1.61 to $27.28, Research, Estimates) reported a profit late Monday that topped estimates and rose from a year earlier due to improved demand for its semiconductors. The company also said its fourth-quarter profit per share and revenue will top current expectations. The stock rallied nearly 6.3 percent and was the NYSE's second most-active issues.
"The Dow is lagging, but the rest of the market is doing pretty well," said Donald Selkin, director of research at Joseph Stevens. "Within the context of the market being pretty rangebound, there are a bunch of stocks that are gaining in response to their earnings. Texas Instruments is a good example of that."
TI's strength also propelled sector mate Micron Technology (MU: Research, Estimates), which gained 5.7 percent in active NYSE trade. The news also influenced many of the technology shares that trade on the Nasdaq.
Shares of EMC (EMC: Research, Estimates) gained 4.5 percent on news that the data storage maker has completed its $1.37 billion stock purchase of software maker Legato Systems (LGTO: unchanged at $11.55, Research, Estimates).
But the Dow's telephone companies offered quarterly reports that were seen as disappointing.
AT&T (T: down $1.07 to $20.00, Research, Estimates) reported earnings per share that grew from a year ago, on revenue that declined due to weaker customer demand and increased competition. The company also reported an accounting error, news of which sent the stock 5.1 percent lower.
SBC Communications (SBC: down $0.40 to $22.00, Research, Estimates) also reported lower quarterly earnings per share and revenue from a year earlier that missed analysts' estimates, as it lost business to wireless competitors and others. But the stock recovered from earlier losses of 4 percent to trade about 1.8 percent lower.
Market breadth was positive with decliners beating advancers by nine to seven on both the New York Stock Exchange, where 1.44 billion shares traded, and on the Nasdaq, where 1.71 billion shares changed hands.
Treasury prices gained for the third day in a row, pushing the 10-year note yield down to 4.35 percent from 4.36 percent late Monday. The dollar declined versus the yen and euro.
NYMEX light sweet crude oil futures fell 11 cents to settle at $30.32 a barrel. COMEX gold rallied $7.60 to $382 an ounce.
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