Dow pares losses as broader stocks advance on Wall Street

Stock indexes on Wall Street ended mixed as investors reacted to issues including global trade negotiations, central bank moves and the latest round of corporate earnings results.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 64.10 points, or 0.3%, to 24,099.05 after dropping as much as 355 points earlier in the session.

The S&P 500 added l0.25% to 2654.80, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.9% to 7130.70.

Stocks made small gains in April on the back of strong corporate earnings after being rocked by a bout of volatility earlier in the year.

Investors have worried higher inflation could lead central banks to tighten monetary policy faster than anticipated while concerns about global trade frictions raised alarms about the global economy.

Shares of Pfizer fell 3.8%, dragging on the Dow, after the pharmaceutical giant reported revenue that fell short of estimates.

McDonald's retreats
McDonald’s dropped 2.6%, giving back some of the previous session’s gains, after reporting global sales and profit growth in the first quarter that were overshadowed by a decline in US customer visits.

Energy stocks in the S&P 500 fell 1%, as US crude futures declined 1.8% to $US67.34 a barrel. 

In London, BP shares rose to levels not seen since shortly after the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010. 

The solid first-quarter results reflected higher oil prices and rising production. The outcome was its strongest quarterly earnings since mid-2014. The shares rose 1.8% to £5.48.

Tapestry, known for the designer brand Coach, was another big mover, declining 11% after reporting weakness at its Stuart Weitzman shoe brand.

Apple and T-Mobile are both set to report results after the closing bell.

Earlier, the Institute for Supply Management released its manufacturing data for April. This showed growth had slowed slightly compared with March.

Erik Davidson, chief investment officer for Wells Fargo Private Bank, said this added to investors’ worries that earnings and the economy have peaked.

“Maybe it was a little on the weak side,” he said of the ISM data.

Trade relief for EU
On the trade front, President Donald Trump gave the European Union and some nations outside the bloc an additional month to negotiate deals that would exempt them from US steel and aluminium tariffs.

The White House said broad tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminium – already in effect against China, Russia, Japan and others – won’t take effect for the EU as previously planned.

“Trade issues and protectionist rhetoric aren’t constructive for markets as they could impact growth. But for now it doesn’t seem like it will boil over,” said Eric Stein, co-director of global income at Eaton Vance.

Traders were also looking ahead to a US Federal Reserve meeting, though it isn’t expected to announce any major policy moves.

The Stoxx Europe 600 slipped less than 0.1%.  France’s CAC 40 rose 0.7%, Germany’s DAX edged up 0.25% and the UK’s FTSE 100 gained 0.15%.

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