By Canadian Press

US stock indexes mixed in afternoon trading; oil slides

Jan 13, 2017 | 6:30 AM

U.S. stock indexes were mostly higher in afternoon trading Friday, giving up some of their gains from earlier in the day. Banks and other financial companies were up the most as investors sized up earnings reports from several big lenders. Utilities were the biggest laggard. Energy stocks were down as crude oil prices headed lower.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average slipped into the red after a strong start. It edged down 3 points to 19,887 as of 1:22 p.m. Eastern Time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 5 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 2,275. The Nasdaq composite index added 33 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 5,580. Small-company stocks rose more than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 index jumped 13 points, or 1 per cent, to $1,374.

BANKING ON EARNINGS: Three major U.S. banks reported quarterly results early Friday that beat Wall Street’s forecasts. JPMorgan Chase added 36 cents, or 0.4 per cent, to $86.60, while Bank of America gained 6 cents to $22.99. Wells Fargo rose 61 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to $55.11. A jump in bond yields and interest rates also helped give lenders a lift. Regions Financial gained 26 cents, or 1.8 per cent, to $14.69.

SLASH & GAIN: Pandora Media climbed 7.4 per cent after the streaming music company issued a strong revenue forecast. The company also said it will cut about 7 per cent of its jobs to reduce costs. The stock added 89 cents to $12.89.

THANKS, UNCLE SAM: DexCom vaulted 29.8 per cent after the medical device maker said Medicare has decided to cover a continuous blood glucose monitoring system it makes for diabetes patients. The stock picked up $20.13 to $87.74.

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RATE IMPACT: HomeStreet fell 4.8 per cent after the real estate lender forecast disappointing fourth-quarter results as mortgage applications dropped because of rising interest rates. The stock slid $1.50 to $29.45.

NO FUN: GameStop was down 8.7 per cent after the video game retailer said holiday revenue dropped because of discounts and weak sales of new “Call of Duty” and “Titanfall” games. The stock fell $2.15 to $22.57.

ENERGY: Benchmark crude oil was down 44 cents, or 0.8 per cent, at $52.57 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price oil sold internationally, was down 36 cents, or 0.6 per cent, at $55.65 a barrel in London.

SLIDING: Several energy companies were down as oil prices headed lower. Marathon Petroleum lost $1.16, or 2.4 per cent, to $48.09, while Cabot Oil & Gas fell 35 cents, or 1.6 per cent, to $21.92. Oilfield services company Baker Hughes was down 90 cents, or 1.4 per cent, to $61.52.

THE ECONOMY: Traders got a batch of encouraging news on the U.S. economy Friday. The Commerce Department said retail sales rose 0.6 per cent in December as online shopping and auto sales increased. Separately, the Labor Department said a gauge of producer prices, which tracks price changes before they reach consumers, rose 1.6 per cent in the 12 months ended in December. That’s the biggest 12-month gain since September 2014.

RETAIL STUMBLE: Despite the encouraging retail sales data for December, some apparel makers were trading lower. PVH Corp., home to Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and other clothing brands, was the biggest decliner in the S&P 500. It slid $4.31, or 3.6 per cent, to $89.82. Under Armour was off 37 cents, or 1.4 per cent, to $26.47.

MARKETS OVERSEAS: In Europe, Germany’s DAX rose 0.9 per cent, while France’s CAC 40 gained 1.2 per cent. Britain’s FTSE 100 added 0.6 per cent. Earlier in Asia, some markets finished lower on disappointing trade data from China. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.5 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.8 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.5 per cent, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slumped 0.8 per cent.

BONDS: Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.40 per cent from 2.36 per cent late Thursday.

CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 114.72 yen from 114.63 yen on Thursday. The euro slipped to $1.0638 from $1.0626.

Alex Veiga, The Associated Press