Wall St mixed in choppy trade

The ASX is tipped to rise modestly at the open after Apple’s downbeat earnings report weighed on US stocks.

Trade on Wall St was choppy as investors digested earnings reports from Boeing and Apple. Picture: AP Photo/Mary Altaffer.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose overnight as gains in Boeing helped offset Apple’s losses.

In Europe, shares fell as investors digested a string of earnings reports across both sides of the Atlantic.

The Australian share market is set for only modest gains at the open, with ASX futures up eight points at 7.25am (AEDT).

Corporate earnings have driven some of the largest moves in stocks over the past week. More than a third of S&P 500 companies have reported quarterly results, according to FactSet, with energy, industrial and technology companies posting the weakest earnings growth so far.

Apple, which reported its first annual revenue decline in 15 years on Tuesday, led losses in the Dow industrials on Wednesday, falling 2.3 per cent. The company is the biggest drag on the S&P 500 tech sector’s third-quarter earnings growth from a year earlier, according to FactSet analyst John Butters.

Wednesday’s decline chipped away at Apple’s recent rally. Ahead of the earnings report Tuesday, Apple’s share price had risen 15 per cent from a recent low Sept. 9, two days after the company unveiled the latest iPhone. Apple is still up nearly 10 per cent so far this year.

The Dow industrials got a lift from Boeing, which rose 4.7 per cent after the aircraft maker raised its full-year guidance. The blue-chip index recovered from earlier losses and closed up 30 points, or 0.2 per cent, at 18199.

“Earnings growth is going to be really, really key for continued growth in the market, even though we’ve muddled along without that for a while, “ said Karyn Cavanaugh, senior market strategist at Voya Investment Management.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.6 per cent, and the S&P 500 edged down 0.2 per cent.

Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill fell 9.3 per cent after the burrito chain reported declines in quarterly sales and profit Tuesday as it recovers from a string of food-safety incidents.

Southwest Airlines declined 8.5 per cent after it signaled a weak revenue environment could persist.

US crude-oil prices fell for a third consecutive session. A US Energy Information Administration report showed Wednesday that crude stockpiles dropped by 553,000 barrels in the week ended Oct. 21. But some analysts said it wasn’t bullish enough to shake off concerns about the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ ability to reach a consensus about cutting production. US crude fell 1.6 per cent to $US49.18 a barrel.

Bond yields in developed markets pushed higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was at 1.790 per cent, compared with 1.758 per cent Tuesday. German 10-year yields rose to 0.09 per cent from 0.02 per cent.

Elsewhere around the globe, stocks mostly fell.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index pulled back 0.4 per cent and the UK’s FTSE 100 index dropped 0.8 per cent. The British pound bounced back against the dollar, rising 0.4 per cent to $US1.2224 after falling Tuesday.

Asian stocks closed broadly lower, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down 1 per cent. Japanese equities bucked the trend as the Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.2 per cent.

Dow Jones