US stocks mixed on weak earnings and higher oil prices

By Marley Jay, Associated Press

Wednesday, May 10, 2017 | 8:46 a.m.

NEW YORK — U.S. stock indexes are mixed Wednesday following weak first-quarter reports from consumer-focused companies including Priceline and Disney. Drugmakers and other health care companies are also down. However energy companies are rallying with the price of oil.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index was unchanged at 2,397 as of 11:15 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average shed 10 points, or 0.1 percent, to 20,965 as Disney slumped. The Nasdaq composite declined 6 points, or 0.1 percent, to 6,114 after it set a record high Tuesday. The Russell 2000 index of small-company stocks gave up most of an early gain, but was still up 2 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,394. Most companies on the New York Stock Exchange rose.

MOUSE MISS: Entertainment giant Walt Disney posted lower sales than investors expected and it said profit at its cable networks declined because of programming costs at ESPN remain high. Its stock fell $3, or 2.7 percent, to $109.07. Recently Disney stock suffered a five-day losing streak partly brought on by concerns about cable advertising revenue. The stock is trading at its lowest prices since January but is still up almost 5 percent this year.

OUT OF LINE: Revenue for online booking service Priceline was a bit lower than analysts expected and the company's profit forecast for the current quarter was also disappointing. That sent the stock down $83.42, or 4.4 percent, to $1,827.71. Priceline has soared 44 percent over the last 12 months.

OIL: Benchmark U.S. crude added $1.24, or 2.7 percent, to $47.12 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international standard, gained $1.15, or 2.4 percent, to $49.88 a barrel in London. That sent energy companies higher, as EOG Resources picked up $3.16, or 3.4 percent, to $94.78 and Chevron added $1.61, or 1.5 percent, to $106.69.

Oil prices started higher and made bigger gains after U.S. crude stockpiles shrank more than investors expected last week.

The price of U.S. crude is down 4.5 percent in May and it's tumbled 17 percent this year. The S&P 500's energy sector has dropped 10 percent in 2017.

YIPES, YELP: Online review website Yelp plunged after it slashed its revenue forecast for the year. That followed a disappointing first-quarter report, and analysts said the company struggled to retain customers. The stock sank $6.43, or 18.5 percent, to $28.27 to reach its lowest price in almost a year.

WATCH OUT: Watchmaker Fossil tumbled after another weaker-than-expected quarterly report. The company said sales of traditional watches and other jewelry continued to fall. Fossil stock traded above $100 a share as recently as December 2014 is now trading at eight-year lows as it lost $3.97, or 21.9 percent, to $14.18.

HEALTH CARE: Botox maker Allergan is on track for its biggest loss in 2017 as its stock fell for the fourth day in a row. It's trading around three-month lows, down $6.72, or 2.8 percent, at $231.79. That helped take health care companies lower. Elsewhere biotechnology company Amgen lost $2.61, or 1.6 percent, to $160.61 and EpiPen maker Mylan declined 70 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $37.31.

TECH EARNINGS: Video game maker Electronic Arts and chipmaker Nvidia both reported stronger results than analysts had expected. Electronic Arts, which makes games including "The Sims" and "Mass Effect," rose $13.49, or 14.1 percent, to $109.50 and Nvidia advanced $14.82, or 14.4 percent, to $117.76. Nvidia shares are now higher this year after they tripled in value in 2016.

PRETTY PICTURE: Beauty products maker Coty rallied after its profit and sales topped investor forecasts. The stock had lost about a third of its value over the last year but jumped $2.44, and 13.7 percent, to $20.27.

BONDS: Bond prices jumped. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.38 percent from 2.41 percent.

CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 114.07 yen from 114.28 yen. The euro edged down to $1.0866 from $1.0869.

OVERSEAS: Germany's DAX fell 0.1 percent and France's CAC-40 slipped 0.1 percent. In Britain, the FTSE 100 jumped 0.6 percent. The Japanese Nikkei 225 gained 0.3 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.5 percent. The Kospi of South Korea fell 1 percent.