U.S. stock indexes drifted between small gains and losses in afternoon trading Tuesday, giving up some of their gains from earlier in the day. A slide in crude oil prices weighed on energy companies, which fell the most, adding to the sector's losses this year. Consumer-focused companies led the gainers. Investors were also sizing up the latest company earnings reports.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 27 points, or 0.1 percent, to 20,079 as of 1:11 p.m. Eastern Time. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 1 point, or 0.1 percent, to 2,291. The Nasdaq composite index added 4 points, or 0.1 percent, to 5,668. The Nasdaq was trading above its latest all-time high.
THE QUOTE: More than half of the companies in the S&P 500 index have reported quarterly results so far, and more than 60 percent have posted earnings that beat financial analysts' estimates, noted Erik Davidson, chief investment officer at Wells Fargo Private Bank.
"We haven't seen a lot of earnings growth in the past several quarters, so the market is excited to see that," Davidson said.
ENERGY: Several oil and gas companies were headed lower as crude prices fell. Chevron was the biggest decliner in the Dow, shedding $1.79, or 1.6 percent, to $111.21. Murphy Oil slid $1.41, or 4.9 percent, to $27.68, while Chesapeake Energy gave up 26 cents, or 4.1 percent, to $6.12. Newfield Exploration slid $1.50, or 3.7 percent, to $39.21. Energy has been the worst-performing sector in the market over the last month and is now back to where it stood in November, when OPEC announced a deal to cut oil production.
NOT A SHOCK: Emerson Electric surged 4.1 percent after posting better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter earnings and sales. The company, which makes process controls systems, valves and analytical instruments, also raised its estimates for the rest of the year. The stock rose $2.44 to $62.31.
HEALTHY QUARTER: Centene climbed 6.3 percent after the health insurer's latest quarterly snapshot exceeded Wall Street's estimates. The stock added $4.02 to $67.65.
UNFASHIONABLE RESULTS: Michael Kors slumped 12.2 percent after the luxury retailer reported lower fiscal third-quarter earnings and sales. The company also gave weak guidance for the current quarter and cut its estimates for the year. The stock slid $5.06 to $36.22.
DRIVE MY CAR: General Motors fell 5.3 percent after the automaker said its earnings declined in the fourth quarter as costs increased. The stock gave up $1.97 to $34.86.
ROUGH RIDE: YRC Worldwide was down 16.1 percent after the trucking company reported a weak revenue measure. The stock slid $2.42 to $12.60.
COSTLY TECH: Sabre tumbled 11.1 percent after the travel industry technology provider issued a forecast for 2017 that fell short of Wall Street's estimates. The company noted that increased investments in IT and other parts of its business will cut into its bottom line. The stock shed $2.76 to $22.05.
MARKETS OVERSEAS: In Europe, Germany's DAX index was up 0.5 percent, while France's CAC 40 was 0.4 percent lower. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 0.5 percent. Stock indexes in Asia were mixed. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index lost 0.4 percent, while Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 rose 0.1 percent. Seoul's Kospi slid 0.1 percent, while India's Sensex shed 0.6 percent.
TREASURY YIELDS: Bond prices rose. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 2.38 percent from 2.41 percent late Monday.
OIL: Benchmark U.S. crude was down $1.09, or 2.1 percent, at $51.92 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price international oils, was off 92 cents, or 1.7 percent, at $54.80 in London.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 111.89 yen from 111.83 on Monday. The euro fell to $1.0698 from $1.0748.
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