Wall Street stocks finished little changed on Wednesday
following mixed corporate earnings and a second day of congressional
testimony from Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up to a new record, rising 15.38 points (0.08%) to 18 224.57.
The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 1.62 (0.08%) to 2 113.86, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.98 (0.02%) at 4 967.14.
TJX, which owns Marshall's, TJ Maxx and other discount apparel and home-goods chains, rose 3.3% after announcing it would raise its dividend and buy back more shares following strong earnings.
But technology giant Hewlett-Packard sank 9.9% after warning of a big drag from the strong dollar as it reported lower earnings.
Markets shrugged off Yellen's second day of testimony, to a House of Representatives panel, after her remarks in the Senate Tuesday had helped lift the Dow and the S&P 500 to record closes.
"Fed chair Janet Yellen sang the same song, but second verse, as she testified to the House today and reiterated rate increases are not imminent," said a note from Wells Fargo Advisors.
McDonald's led the Dow, gaining 3.9% ahead of the March 1 arrival of new chief executive Steve Easterbrook.
Apple lost 2.6% after a Texas jury in a federal case found the tech giant's iTunes system violated patents held by Smartflash. A US judge imposed a $533m award on Apple, which plans to appeal.
Retail giant Target, which sells clothing and a broad slate of goods, added 0.3% after reporting a 3.8% rise in comparable sales in the fourth quarter. The company lost $2.6bn during the period due to a $5.1bn charge to wind down its Canadian operations.
Some petroleum-linked equities, including Chevron (+0.6%) and Halliburton (+1.3%), rose as oil prices rallied.
The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 1.62 (0.08%) to 2 113.86, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.98 (0.02%) at 4 967.14.
TJX, which owns Marshall's, TJ Maxx and other discount apparel and home-goods chains, rose 3.3% after announcing it would raise its dividend and buy back more shares following strong earnings.
But technology giant Hewlett-Packard sank 9.9% after warning of a big drag from the strong dollar as it reported lower earnings.
Markets shrugged off Yellen's second day of testimony, to a House of Representatives panel, after her remarks in the Senate Tuesday had helped lift the Dow and the S&P 500 to record closes.
"Fed chair Janet Yellen sang the same song, but second verse, as she testified to the House today and reiterated rate increases are not imminent," said a note from Wells Fargo Advisors.
McDonald's led the Dow, gaining 3.9% ahead of the March 1 arrival of new chief executive Steve Easterbrook.
Apple lost 2.6% after a Texas jury in a federal case found the tech giant's iTunes system violated patents held by Smartflash. A US judge imposed a $533m award on Apple, which plans to appeal.
Retail giant Target, which sells clothing and a broad slate of goods, added 0.3% after reporting a 3.8% rise in comparable sales in the fourth quarter. The company lost $2.6bn during the period due to a $5.1bn charge to wind down its Canadian operations.
Some petroleum-linked equities, including Chevron (+0.6%) and Halliburton (+1.3%), rose as oil prices rallied.
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