NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were mixed on Wednesday as a series of disappointing earnings reports damped investor optimism over the prospect of a new round of U.S.-China trade talks next week, while the euro dropped to a two-month low amid soft economic data.
Boeing Co and Caterpillar Inc shares slid after their second-quarter results fell short of analyst expectations. The industrial bellwethers weighed heaviest on the Dow Jones index.
Boeing posted its biggest loss in a decade, owing to the grounding of its 737 MAX aircraft, while Caterpillar was hurt by weak China sales in the face of the U.S.-China tariff war.
“The weak earnings numbers reflect weakness in overseas markets,” said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel in New York. “Boeing’s got its own issues but Caterpillar is a multinational and it should give us pause about the global economy.”
Investors had been heartened in recent days by the prospect of a fresh round of U.S.-China trade negotiations next week and expectations the European Central Bank and the U.S. Federal Reserve would cut interest rates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 129.99 points, or 0.48%, to 27,219.2, the S&P 500 lost 0.31 points, or 0.01%, to 3,005.16 and the Nasdaq Composite added 13.16 points, or 0.16%, to 8,264.57.
A series of purchasing manager index (PMI) readings in the United States and Europe were weaker than expected, capping gains in equity markets worldwide.
“The PMI data in Europe has been soft for some time,” added Ghriskey. “We continue to be concerned, and the (U.S.-China) trade dispute continues to be a real impediment to the growth rate of
