(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors) U.S. stocks were little changed Wednesday as investors heard more of the same from Fed Chair Janet Yellen in her second day of semi-annual testimony on Capitol Hill after dovish remarks yesterday sent the Dow and the S&P 500 to new records.
As of noon in New York the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 16 points at 18225 while the Nasdaq edged up 4 points to 4972 and the S&P 500 was flat at 2115.
The tech heavy Nasdaq index was held back by losses from Hewlett-Packard which disappointed with its latest quarterly results.
Fed chairwoman Yellen before the House Financial Services Committee again stressed today that normalization of interest rates will begin when the central bank is reasonably confident that inflation is moving towards the Fed's target of 2% growth.
Also on the economic agenda today the government said sales of new homes in January at a better-than-expected 481000 annual rate managed to hold onto December's big surge when sales jumped a revised 8.1% to 482000.
European markets settled mostly lower today easing back from records while shares in China also closed down 0.6%. China's manufacturing sector expanded for the first time in four months in February surprising investors who were expecting a third period of contraction but export orders shrank at their fastest rate in 20 months.
Crude oil for April delivery rose 64 cents to $49.92 a barrel in New York holding below $50 as oil inventories swelled by a very sizable 8.4 million barrels in the February 20 week -- the seventh straight large build which puts inventories at a fifth straight 80-year high of 434.1 million barrels according to data from the Energy Information Adminstration.
Saudi Arabia's oil minister also said earlier today that crude demand is growing and markets are calm. Gold futures rose $9 to $1206 an ounce amid Yellen's testimony.
In corporate activity Target () shares fell as its current quarter profit outlook fell below estimates but the retailer said its sales for the holiday quarter beat the projections it gave last month.
Lowe's () reported quarterly results that topped forecasts and said comparable store sales increased a better-than-expected 7.3% during the most recent period.
() shares slid almost 10% after its quarterly profit missed expectations.
Hewlett-Packard () topped estimates with earnings but its revenue fell short of expectations as the company also issued lighter than expected guidance due to a negative impact from a stronger dollar. The stock shed 9.7% on Wednesday.
After the closing bell Wednesday () () and Liberty Interactive (NASDAQ:QVCA) will be among those headlining the quarterly results.
In other news () is planning to appeal a verdict to pay nearly $533 million after a federal jury found its iTunes software infringed three patents owned by Texas-based Smartflash.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.