US close: Markets mixed amid choppy corporate earnings

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session up 0.21% at 24,579.96, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.15% to 2,640.00, and the Nasdaq 100 slid 0.96% to 6,632.79.

Earlier, the Dow opened 120 points higher as market participants patiently awaited two days of Sino-US trade talks, set to kick-off in Washington on Wednesday, following news that the US Justice Department had filed a host of criminal charges against Chinese telecoms company Huawei and its chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou.

The US delegation will be led by Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and will include Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and Trump's policy advisers Larry Kudlow and Peter Navarro, while the Chinese delegation will be led by Vice Premier Liu He.

“Trade talks between the US and China appeared to be going rather well until last week when speculation started circling that a preparatory meeting prior to Liu He’s visit this week had been cancelled,” said Oanda analyst Craig Erlam earlier.

“While this was denied by Larry Kudlow, it was followed by claims that the two sides are miles and miles from a deal and now another spanner has been thrown in the works, with the US filing numerous charges against Chinese telecom giant Huawei.”

Erlam said Huawei had long been a target of the US, so the charges were not necessarily surprising, although he described the timing of them as “curious”.

“For now, it threatens to ratchet up tensions between the world’s two largest economies, as they work towards a deal that prevents further tariffs and ideally removes those already imposed.

“Only time will tell whether the charges damage negotiations or serve as a tool to progress the talks.”

Elsewhere, the United States approved sanctions against Venezuela's state-owned oil firm PDVSA as it ramps-up efforts to force President Nicolás Maduro into relinquishing power of the South American nation.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the proceeds of the purchase of Venezuelan oil would now be withheld from Mr Maduro's government, but added that sanctions could be avoided by the country's government recognising opposition leader Juan Guaidó as interim president, as the US and 20 other nations have already done.

The sanctions were likely to have a sizeable impact as 41% of Venezuelan oil exports are sent to the US, making the country one of the top four crude oil suppliers to the States.

On the data front, US house prices rose less than expected in November, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller national home price index.

The 20-city composite index was up 4.7% year-over-year, down from a 5% increase the month before and missing expectations for a 4.9% rise.

That marked the slowest rate of annual growth since January 2015.

Elsewhere, a major measure of US consumer confidence fell for a third consecutive month in a row in January, going a way to highlight that political discord in Washington and economic uncertainties were weighing on the nation's households.

The Conference Board revealed that its US consumer confidence index had fallen to 120.2 in January from the 126.6 reported back in December.

Economists had pencilled in a reading of 124.

Lastly, the Fed kicked off its two-day policy meeting where it was expected to signal a pause in tightening and acknowledge several growing economic risks.

In corporate news, Pfizer was 3.16% higher after its fourth-quarter earnings and revenue beat expectations, but its guidance for 2019 fell short.

Xerox shot up 11.26% by the closing bell, as its fourth-quarter profit beat expectations but revenue declined more than expected.

3M and Biogen picked up 2.06% and 1.35%, respectively, following the release of their quarterly figures, while Verizon lost 3.29% and Harley-Davidson dropped 5.05% on the back of theirs.

Tech giant Apple and online retailer eBay were tantalising the appetites of traders in the final stages of the day, with both slated to report quarterly earnings after the bell.

“With concerns about a China slowdown at the forefront of investor thinking and the big drop in Nvidia’s share price yesterday all eyes will turn to Apple’s first quarter numbers later today after the bell, after the falls seen yesterday,” said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.

“A sharp drop here would suggest that demand for the more expensive models is slowing sharply and that peak iPhone or Apple fatigue is creeping in as consumers tire of the incessant minor upgrades, and lack of innovation elsewhere.”

Dow Jones - Risers

Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $40.74 3.14%
3M Co. (MMM) $196.95 1.94%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $117.81 1.74%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $126.53 1.74%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $130.33 1.04%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $58.53 0.67%
American Express Co. (AXP) $101.00 0.57%
Boeing Co. (BA) $364.91 0.55%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $47.26 0.49%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $45.96 0.46%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $53.28 -5.53%
Visa Inc. (V) $135.00 -2.65%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $102.94 -2.04%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $154.68 -1.04%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $182.17 -0.78%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $46.54 -0.36%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $112.01 -0.30%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $71.51 -0.29%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $267.31 -0.26%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $96.63 -0.24%

S&P 500 - Risers

PG&E Corp. (PCG) $13.99 16.49%
Corning Inc. (GLW) $33.72 11.07%
Xerox Corp. (XRX) $27.03 10.35%
Whirlpool Corp. (WHR) $136.52 9.15%
Harris Corp. (HRS) $155.22 8.78%
Dover Corp. (DOV) $86.16 8.73%
L3 Technologies Inc (LLL) $199.59 8.44%
Rockwell Automation Inc. (ROK) $173.35 6.36%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $64.84 5.77%
Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) $22.64 3.81%

S&P 500 - Fallers

GameStop Corp. (GME) $11.28 -27.23%
Allergan plc (AGN) $145.12 -8.55%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $53.28 -5.53%
Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG) $34.76 -5.05%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $131.60 -4.64%
Signet Jewelers Ltd (SIG) $24.26 -4.12%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $1.85 -3.65%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $87.24 -3.57%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $42.55 -3.30%
Affiliated Mgrs Group (AMG) $106.70 -2.89%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $64.84 5.77%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $69.59 2.47%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $36.08 2.01%
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $41.08 1.58%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $334.48 1.35%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $339.24 1.06%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $94.18 1.06%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $110.76 1.02%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $59.97 0.98%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $28.77 0.84%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $131.60 -4.64%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $87.24 -3.57%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $166.69 -3.37%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $42.55 -3.30%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $1,593.88 -2.69%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $49.40 -2.45%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $144.19 -2.22%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $45.73 -2.16%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $20.42 -2.06%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $102.94 -2.04%