Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened mixed to lower on Wednesday, after the release of mixed first-quarter earnings reports and still more to come, whiles investors awaited the release of U.S. economic reports later in the trading session.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow 30 edged up 0.03%, the S&P 500 dipped 0.02%, while the NASDAQ Composite fell 0.22%.
Markets showed little reaction to data earlier showing that the preliminary reading of China’s HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers’ index came in at 48.3 this month, up slightly from a final reading of 48.0 in March, but still below the 50 line separating expansion from contraction.
In th tech sector, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) declined 0.57% after data compiled by Bloomberg showed that the company's revenue is projected to be flat this year for the first time in at least a decade, while profit is estimated to decline 5%, making it the sixth consecutive period with little to no gains.
Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) slid 0.69% aftet the company said its stake in the outcome of a $2 billion trial over smartphones using its Android operating system was revealed by testimony that the company indemnified Samsung Electronics against some of Apple's patent claims.
In earnings news, AT&T (NYSE:T) saw shares dive 3.97% even as the wireless carrier reported first-quarter earnings that exceeded estimates.
Biotech company Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) reported lower-than-expected sales of its top drug. Although executives assured investors the drop was seasonal and they were on target to meet their 2014 projections, the company's shares plummeted 2.60% at the open of the U.S. trading session.
In the same sector, Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) surged 3.05% after saying that Sovaldi, the company’s $1,000-a-pill medicine to treat hepatitis C, had sales of $2.27 billion in the first quarter, beating analysts' estimates by more than $1 billion.
Elsewhere, Boeing (NYSE:BA) shares advanced 2.22% after the plane manufacturer reported a 14% increase in adjusted net profit in the first quarter, beating market expectations.
Other stocks likely to be in focus included Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG), Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW), Omnicare (NYSE:OCR), F5 Networks (NASDAQ:FFIV), Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA), Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN), Delta Airlines (NYSE:DAL) and QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM), all scheduled to report quarterly results later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 slid 0.36%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.43%, Germany's DAX fell 0.27%, while Britain's FTSE 100 edged down 0.17%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng retreated 0.97%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 rallied 1.09%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish reports on new home sales and manufacturing activity.