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* Boeing falls after reporting $3 bln loss
* Caterpillar slips on lower quarterly earnings
* Texas Instruments hits record on upbeat results
* Big Tech faces broad Justice Dept antitrust probe
* Dow down 0.41%; S&P up 0.13%, Nasdaq rises 0.39%
(Updates to afternoon)
By Amy Caren Daniel
July 24 (Reuters) - The benchmark S&P 500 index hovered near
record levels on Wednesday as semiconductor stocks rallied on
reassuring comments from Texas Instruments on global chip demand
and blunted the impact of weak earnings from bellwethers Boeing
and Caterpillar.
Trade-sensitive Caterpillar Inc CAT.N dropped 4.4%
following disappointing earnings on weak sales in China, and
higher production and restructuring costs. Boeing Co BA.N slipped 2.6% after the world's largest
planemaker posted its largest-ever quarterly loss on the back of
this year's grounding of its best-selling 737 MAX after two
deadly crashes. Their bleak earnings dragged the blue-chip Dow index .DJI
down more than 100 points, but the surge in chipmakers brought
the S&P 500 just 0.3% away from its all-time high of 3,017.80.
"Caterpillar's earnings didn't instill confidence in markets
as it shows the negative impact of tariffs and a slowdown in the
Chinese economy," said Paul Brigandi, managing director of
portfolio management at Direxion Funds in New York.
"Texas Instruments was a much needed optimism for markets
and it helped offset some of the global slowdown concern caused
by Caterpillar. It also reflects the growing prospects of the
chip industry."
Wall Street has scaled new records this month on bets the
Federal Reserve would lower rates to counter the impact of a
protracted U.S.-China trade war on economic growth.
Texas Instruments Inc TXN.O jumped 7.5% after the company
hinted that a global slowdown in microchip demand would not be
as long as feared, powering a 2.84% rise in the Philadelphia
chip index .SOX to a record high. The broader technology sector .SPLRCT rose 0.45% and
provided the biggest support to markets.
Two weeks into an earnings season for which investors have
dialed down expectations, about 77% of the 138 S&P 500 companies
that have reported so far have topped earnings estimates,
according to Refinitiv data.
Overall profits, however, are now expected to fall 0.1%,
compared with prior estimate of a rise of about 1%.
At 12:50 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was down 113.44 points, or 0.41%, at 27,235.75, the S&P 500
.SPX was up 3.78 points, or 0.13%, at 3,009.25. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was up 32.04 points, or 0.39%, at 8,283.44.
Another bright spot was United Parcel Service Inc UPS.N ,
up 7.7%, and was among the biggest gainers on the S&P 500 index,
after the world's biggest package delivery company reported a
better-than-expected quarterly profit. Capping gains was the U.S. Justice Department's announcement
of a broad antitrust investigation into big tech companies.
The DoJ did not identify the companies, but the terms of the
review pointed to Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O , Amazon.com Inc
AMZN.O and Facebook Inc FB.O . Their shares fell between 0.2%
and 1%. Facebook is set to report results after markets close.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.12-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 1.98-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 29 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 60 new highs and 81 new lows.