Investing.com – Wall Street was mixed on Wednesday even after upbeat earnings from Morgan Stanley and PepsiCo, while positive Chinese economic data eased global slowdown concerns.
The S&P 500 rose 1 point or 0.05% by 9:47 AM ET (13:47 GMT), while the Dow was down 41 points or 0.2% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite gained 28 points or 0.4%.
China’s economy grew by 6.4% in the first quarter, which, along with retail sales and industrial production data, eased concerns that the second largest economy in the world is slowing. Still, the U.S. and China have yet to reach a trade deal and concerns remain that the growth could be temporary.
PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) gained 2.6% its first-quarter results were better than expected, with organic revenue growing by 5.2%. Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) surged 16% after rising 23% on Tuesday after news that it settled with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) on a patent dispute.
The last of the big banks to report, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) was up 0.6% after its revenue fell less than expected during a weak quarter. U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) also joined other banks in a less-than-ideal quarter as market volatility ate into profits.
Meanwhile, CVS Health Corp (NYSE:CVS) fell 1.2%, while Abbott Labs (NYSE:ABT) slipped 2% despite reporting a strong first quarter. Healthcare stocks were also down, with Anthem (NYSE:ANTM) down 4.6% and UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH) losing 3.3%.
In commodities, gold futures inched up 0.07% to $1,278.05 a troy ounce while crude oil gained 0.3% to $64.20 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was down slightly at 96.618.