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Mixed earnings halt stocks' two-day gains in Wall Street

2010-04-22 10:58 BJT

NEW YORK, April 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended a choppy session narrowly mixed on Wednesday as a batch of mixed corporate earnings and Greece debt concerns weigh on the market.

Morgan Stanley reported a first-quarter profit of 1.41 billion U.S. dollars, or 99 cents a share, from a loss of 578 million dollars, or 57 cents a share, in the first quarter of 2009. The financial-services firm said net revenue rose to 9.08 billion dollars from 2.9 billion dollars. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast earnings of 57 cents a share on revenue of 7. 94 billion dollars, on average.

Wells Fargo & Co. said its first-quarter profit fell from year- ago levels as the company spent money to integrate its Wachovia acquisition and its credit costs rose. The firm it earned 2.55 billion dollars, or 45 cents a share, in the quarter, compared to 3.05 billion dollars, or 56 cents a share, a year ago. Analysts had expected the company to earn 42 cents a share.

Apple Inc. reported second-quarter net income of 3.07 billion dollars or 3.33 dollars per share, compared to net income of 1.62 billion dollars or 1.79 dollars per share in the same quarter last year. Revenue for the quarter was 13.50 billion dollars, up from 9. 08 billion dollars in the comparable quarter last year.

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) said its first-quarter profit rose to 1. 09 billion dollars, or 1 dollar a share, from 979.5 million dollars, or 87 cents a share, a year earlier. Total revenue, including those from franchised restaurants, rose 10 percent to 5. 61 billion dollars.

In other earnings, AT&T beat estimates on a boost from strong sales of Apple's iPhone; United Technologies also beat estimates; while Boeing's profit and revenue dropped amid fewer airplane deliveries.

Talks started on Wednesday between Greece and its counterparts in the euro region, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank on what measures are required for it to secure a 61 billion-dollar emergency aid package. Investors are worried that the package might not be enough to prevent Greece from defaulting on its debts.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 7.86 points, or 0.07 percent, to 11,124.92. The S&P 500 dipped 1.24 points, or 0.10 percent, to 1,205.93 while the Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 4.3 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2504.61.

Editor: Zhang Ning | Source: Xinhua