U.S. Stocks Close On Mixed Note; Microsoft, Visa Rally On Strong Earnings

(RTTNews) - U.S. stocks turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday with investors tracking quarterly earnings updates and closely following the developments on the geopolitical front.

The mood remained cautious amid concerns about inflation and looming interest rate hikes.

The Dow, which briefly slipped into the red around mid-morning, recovered well but pared most of its gains in the final hour to eventually close at 33,301.93, up 61.75 points or 0.19 percent.

The S&P 500 settled at 4,183.96 with a gain of 8.76 points or 0.21 percent, after climbing to 4,240.71 about an hour past noon. The Nasdaq ended down 1.81 points or 0.01 percent at 12,488.93 despite having climbed ot 12,703.79 in early trades.

Microsoft (MS) gained nearly 5 percent after the software giant reported better than expected quarterly results and provided upbeat guidance. Microsoft reported earnings per share of $2.22 for the third-quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.19. The company has forecast double-digit revenue growth for the next fiscal year, driven by demand for cloud computing services.

Shares of Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) shed about 3.7 percent after the company reported weaker than expected first quarter results.

Boeing (BA) shares ended more than 7 percent down after the group reported a loss of $2.75 a share against an expected loss of 27 cents a share, as higher costs on both commercial and defence aircraft weighed on revenues.

Cisco Systems, Verizon, Johnson & Johnson, Wallgreens Boots Alliance and JP Morgan Chase shed 1 to 3 percent.

Visa (V) shares rallied more than 6 percent after the payments processor reported better-than-expected quarterly results and said it expected further growth as spending on travel picks up pace.

Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) shares gained 2.6 percent after reporting third quarter earnings of $928.5 million, or $2.21 per share. This compares with $810.7 million, or $1.90 per share, in last year's third quarter.

In U.S. economic news, pending home sales in the U.S. decreased for the fifth straight month in March, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors.

NAR said its pending home sales slumped by 1.2 percent to 103.7 in March after plunging by 4 percent to a revised 105.0 in February. Economists had expected pending home sales to tumble by 1.6 percent.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.2 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index surged by 2.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside on the day. The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed up 0.73 percent. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index surged up 0.53 percent, Germany's DAX gained 0.27 percent and France's CAC 40 moved up 0.48 percent, while Switzerland's SMI advanced 0.99 percent.

In commodities trading, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended higher by $0.32 or about 0.3% at $102.02 a barrel. Gold futures for June ended down by $15.40 or about 0.8% at $1,888.70 an ounce, after having snapped a five-day losing streak on Tuesday.