NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks were mixed at midday Wednesday as Greece, slogging through negotiations with other countries over a bailout, once again cast a long shadow over the financial markets.
The Dow Jones industrial average gave up an early gain and fell 19 points to 12,859. The Standard & Poor's 500 edged up five points to 1,356. The Nasdaq composite rose 26 to 2,957.
Information technology stocks led the market higher, gaining 1 percent as a group thanks in part to Apple, which set another record high at $525 a share, up 30 percent for the year.
Greece loomed over the market, as it has for weeks. It is trying to secure a second international bailout so it won't default on its debt next month and rattle the global financial system.
On Wednesday, European finance ministers planned a conference call to discuss Greece. A spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel sharply rejected rumors in financial markets that Germany had decided a Greek bankruptcy was acceptable.
Incremental developments in the Greek crisis, such as a nod from China that it would continue to invest in some European bonds, or commitments from Greek leaders about spending cuts, have sent U.S. stocks zigzagging.
Dan McMahon, director of equity trading at Raymond James, said a quiet day for Greece news would likely let the market drift higher.
Even though Greece makes up just 2 percent of the total economic output of the 17 countries that use the euro, what troubles investors is that similar financial problems are festering in other European countries, like Portugal, Italy and Spain.
"There is no shortage of people who would argue that Greece is a non-event," McMahon said. "It's more that it's a barometer for the rest of the eurozone."
Among the biggest movers in the U.S. market:
— Comcast, the cable provider, climbed 5 percent after beating Wall Street expectations for profit and revenue. It managed to slow the loss of customers as it added channels and better customer service.
— Kellogg rose 5 percent after announcing it would buy Pringles from Procter & Gamble. Diamond Foods had a deal to buy Pringles but got caught up in an accounting scandal that forced it to get rid of its top two executives last week. P&G was flat, and Diamond was up 3 percent.
— Abercrombie & Fitch soared 11 percent after the teen clothing store gave more details on its plans for opening more stores overseas, where profit margins can be higher because customers expect fewer clearance sales.
— Zynga, the maker of popular Facebook games like Farmville, plummeted 14 percent after saying it lost money in the fourth quarter and analysts said its growth was slowing significantly. Zynga went public in December.
There are no comments yet