Dow, Nasdaq Move In Opposite Directions On Mixed Earnings News

(RTTNews) - After moving notably higher for three straight days, the major U.S. stock indexes have moved in starkly opposite directions in morning trading on Wednesday.

While the Dow has seen further upside, rising to its best intraday level in well over a month, the tech-heavy Nasdaq has shown a sharp pullback.

Currently, the Nasdaq is well off its early lows but remains down 108.53 points or 1.0 percent at 11,090.59. The S&P 500 is posting a more modest loss, down 4.95 points or 0.1 percent at 3,854.16, while the narrower Dow is up 162.76 points or 0.5 percent at 31,999.50.

The pullback by the Nasdaq comes amid a negative reaction to earnings news from tech giants Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet (GOOGL).

Shares of Microsoft are plunging by 6.1 percent after the software giant reported better than expected fiscal first quarter results but provided disappointing guidance.

Google parent Alphabet has also tumbled by 6.9 percent after reporting third quarter results that missed analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Meanwhile, the Dow is benefiting from a strong gain by shares of Visa (V), with the credit card giant jumping by 5.4 percent after reporting better than expected third quarter results.

Dow component Boeing (BA) has also moved to the upside despite reporting an unexpected third quarter loss on weaker than expected revenues.

Oil service stocks have moved sharply higher in morning trading, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 4.9 percent to its best intraday level in well over four months.

The rally by oil service stocks comes amid a notable increase by the price of crude oil, with crude for December delivery jumping $1.47 to $86.79 a barrel.

An increase by the price of gold is also contributing to strength among gold stocks, as reflected by the 2.2 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.

Biotechnology, telecom and tobacco stocks are also seeing significant strength on the day, while retail stocks have moved to the downside.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index climbed by 0.7 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index advanced by 0.8 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the upside over the course of the session. While the German DAX Index is up by 0.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index are both up by 0.2 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are extending the significant rebound seen in the previous session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 7.0 basis points at 4.038 percent.