S&P turns positive as oil rises; Street awaits Fed statement

歐美股市由跌轉升, 油價升返, 金價偏軟 !

finance.yahoo.com

U.S. stocks traded mixed Wednesday ahead of the afternoon Fed statement release, as gains in oil offset pressure from some disappointing quarterly reports.

Brent and U.S. crude oil futures gained more than 2 percent to top $32 a barrel in late-morning trade. Weekly inventories showed a build of 8.4 million barrels, versus a rise of 4.0 million barrels last week, according to StreetAccount.

The Dow Jones industrial average traded about 70 points lower. Earlier, the index fell more than 150 points as both Apple (AAPL) and Boeing (BA) declined sharply. The two stocks were the greatest weights on the Dow, accounting for more than 100 points off the index, while Goldman Sachs (GS) contributed the most to gains as of 11:19 a.m. ET.

"I think it's earnings driving the market today and a disappointing result and outlook by Apple," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank.

Boeing pared losses to hold about 8 percent lower, still on pace for its worst daily loss in more than a decade. The stock initially fell more than 9.5 percent after the firm gave full-year guidance below expectations , although the jetmaker reported earnings that beat on both the top and bottom line.

Shares of Apple fell more than 5.5 percent in late-morning trade after the iPhone maker reported fewer-than-expected unit sales of its flagship product, for the lowest growth in shipments since the iPhone was launched in 2007. Apple also forecast its first revenue drop in 13 years, citing some softness in the critical Chinese market, Reuters reported.

"It's weighing on stocks more broadly given its size and dominance," Ablin said.

The Nasdaq composite briefly fell more than 1 percent in morning trade, as Apple declined and the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) (IBB) turned lower after briefly spiking 1 percent in opening trade.

The Dow transports briefly gained more than 1 percent in morning trade as United Continental (UAL) led advancers.

The Federal Open Market Committee is scheduled to release its meeting statement at 2 p.m. ET as it concludes its two-day meeting.

"If the (statement is) somewhat dovish I think the market will actually move higher," said Randy Frederick, managing director of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab, citing the gains in stocks after ECB President Mario Draghi's comments last week raised hopes of further stimulus in the euro zone.

"I find it a little disappointing that the market wants the Fed to ease up," he said.

Analysts don't expect the central bank to move on rates, but will scrutinize the statement for signs of how much the Fed is watching recent global market activity and indications on the future path of tightening.

"I think it's going to be volatile after 2 p.m.. I think people are going to try to read a lot into the Fed statement," said Omar Aguilar, chief investment officer of equities at Charles Schwab Investment Management.

"The wording in the statement (and) when Janet Yellen goes in front of Congress will probably give an indication on the Fed's view on the state of the economy," he said.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen is scheduled to hold her semi-annual testimony before Congress in about two weeks.

In economic news, new home sales jumped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 544,000 from an upwardly revised November figure of 491,000.

Treasury yields held higher, with the 2-year yield (U.S.:US2Y) at 0.87 percent and the 10-year yield (U.S.:US10Y) at 2.03 percent.

The U.S. dollar index traded about 0.4 percent lower, with the euro edging towards $1.09 and the yen at 118.46 yen against the greenback.

In late-morning trade, the Dow Jones industrial average (Dow Jones Global Indexes: .DJI) declined 84 points, or 0.52 percent, to 16,084, with Boeing the greatest decliner and Goldman Sachs and United Technologies (UTX) the top advancers.

United Technologies, maker of Pratt & Whitney aircraft engines and Otis elevators, reaffirmed guidance but reported a 4.5 percent decline in fourth-quarter revenue as a strong dollar weighed.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 5 points, or 0.27 percent, to 1,898, with information technology leading four sectors lower and consumer staples leading gainers.

The Nasdaq (^IXIC) composite fell 41 points, or 0.90 percent, to 4,526.

Decliners were a step ahead of advancers on the New York Stock Exchange, with an exchange volume of 306 million and a composite volume of nearly 1.4 billion in late-morning trade.

Crude oil futures for March delivery rose 31 cents to $31.75 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures for February delivery fell $3.90 to $1,116.30 an ounce as of 11:22 a.m. ET.

—Reuters contributed to this report.