Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened mixed on Wednesday, despite upbeat bank earnings reports, as concerns over the outlook for global economic growth weighed on investor confidence.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fslid 0.36%, the S&P 500 index edged down 0.22%, while the Nasdaq Composite index added 0.16%.
Sentiment weakened after the World Bank sharply revised on Tuesday its 2013 outlook for the world economy to 2.4% from its last forecast of 3% in June, saying an unexpectedly sluggish recovery in developed countries was to blame for slow global growth.
Meanwhile, uncertainty over the U.S. debt ceiling deadlock continued to weigh after President Barack Obama urged Republicans earlier in the week to approve an increase in the borrowing limit without seeking policy concessions in return.
Earlier Wednesday, the Labor Department said that U.S. consumer prices were flat in December, broadly in line with market expectations, following a 0.3% decline in November.
A separate report showed that U.S. industrial production rose 0.3% last month, in line with expectations.
Goldman Sachs jumped 1.89% after posting fourth-quarter earnings that nearly tripled. In addition, the investment bank’s fourth quarter revenue rose 53% from a year earlier to USD9.24 billion, blowing past expectations for revenue of USD7.83 billion.
JPMorgan Chase dropped 0.56% on the other hand, even as it beat earnings expectations. The U.S. lender also slashed CEO Jamie Dimon's bonus in half, citing the company's USD6.2 billion "London Whale" trading loss last year.
Meanwhile, Citigroup rose 0.26% and Bank of America edged up 0.09%.
Elsewhere, aircraft company Boeing plunged 3.59% as Japan's two leading airlines grounded their fleets of 787 Dreamliners on Wednesday after one of the passenger jets made an emergency landing.
General Motors added to losses, diving 4.05%, after the automaker said it expects operating profit to rise "modestly" this year.
In the tech sector, Dell saw shares plummet 3.61%, following two consecutive sessions of gains due to reports the computer maker is discussing a leveraged buyout with private-equity firms TPG Capital and Silver Lake.
Separately, Apple surged 2.06% after saying it introduced installment payment plans for buyers of iPhones and MacBook laptops in China, in a move to beat competition with low-cost devices.
Other stocks likely to be in focus included eBay, slates to post results after the closing bell.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed to lower. The EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.32%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.13%, Germany's DAX slipped 0.18%, while Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.38%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slipped 0.1%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index dove 2.56%.
Later in the day, the Federal Reserve was to publish its Beige Book.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fslid 0.36%, the S&P 500 index edged down 0.22%, while the Nasdaq Composite index added 0.16%.
Sentiment weakened after the World Bank sharply revised on Tuesday its 2013 outlook for the world economy to 2.4% from its last forecast of 3% in June, saying an unexpectedly sluggish recovery in developed countries was to blame for slow global growth.
Meanwhile, uncertainty over the U.S. debt ceiling deadlock continued to weigh after President Barack Obama urged Republicans earlier in the week to approve an increase in the borrowing limit without seeking policy concessions in return.
Earlier Wednesday, the Labor Department said that U.S. consumer prices were flat in December, broadly in line with market expectations, following a 0.3% decline in November.
A separate report showed that U.S. industrial production rose 0.3% last month, in line with expectations.
Goldman Sachs jumped 1.89% after posting fourth-quarter earnings that nearly tripled. In addition, the investment bank’s fourth quarter revenue rose 53% from a year earlier to USD9.24 billion, blowing past expectations for revenue of USD7.83 billion.
JPMorgan Chase dropped 0.56% on the other hand, even as it beat earnings expectations. The U.S. lender also slashed CEO Jamie Dimon's bonus in half, citing the company's USD6.2 billion "London Whale" trading loss last year.
Meanwhile, Citigroup rose 0.26% and Bank of America edged up 0.09%.
Elsewhere, aircraft company Boeing plunged 3.59% as Japan's two leading airlines grounded their fleets of 787 Dreamliners on Wednesday after one of the passenger jets made an emergency landing.
General Motors added to losses, diving 4.05%, after the automaker said it expects operating profit to rise "modestly" this year.
In the tech sector, Dell saw shares plummet 3.61%, following two consecutive sessions of gains due to reports the computer maker is discussing a leveraged buyout with private-equity firms TPG Capital and Silver Lake.
Separately, Apple surged 2.06% after saying it introduced installment payment plans for buyers of iPhones and MacBook laptops in China, in a move to beat competition with low-cost devices.
Other stocks likely to be in focus included eBay, slates to post results after the closing bell.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed to lower. The EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.32%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.13%, Germany's DAX slipped 0.18%, while Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.38%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slipped 0.1%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index dove 2.56%.
Later in the day, the Federal Reserve was to publish its Beige Book.