Mixed performance for US stocks

Stocks were narrowly mixed on Wall Street today, despite solid results from Johnson & Johnson and several banking companies.

A disappointing report from Merrill Lynch and a wait for Intel’s earnings kept the markets off balance, with light volume and little change on the major indexes.

Investors hoped Intel’s earnings, due after the close of regular trading, would give a better assessment of the health of the technology sector, which had been hit hard over the past week with analyst downgrades and lowered outlooks.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 9.37, or 0.1%, at 10,247.59.

Broader stock indicators were narrowly mixed. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 0.79, or 0.1%, to close at 1,115.14, and the Nasdaq composite index was down 5.26, or 0.3%, at 1,931.66.

The Commerce Department’s latest report on the US’s trade deficit gave the market a lift.

The trade deficit narrowed to 46 billion in May, dropping 4.5% from April’s all-time high.

US exports had their best month on record, the department said, helped in part by a weaker dollar.

However, investor focus remained with earnings and, in particular, companies’ outlooks for the second half of the year, which call for slower growth rates.

Add that to concerns over terrorism, election year politics and ever-present interest rate concerns, and investors “are going to be sitting on their hands”, said Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer at First Albany Corp.

“What we see right now is the market bumping up against a wall of worry,” Johnson said. “For every investor, there’s something to worry about. And that’s why, even though second quarter should come in strong, it won’t be enough to really spark anything.”

Johnson & Johnson announced that sales had climbed 11.1% from a year ago, due to pharmaceutical and medical devices. The company earned 2.5 billion in the quarter, beating Wall Street estimates by 3 cents per share. J&J climbed 49 cents to 55.38.

Merrill Lynch fell 1.67 to 49.80 after missing Wall Street expectations by 3 cents per share for the second quarter due to losses from investment banking and overseas businesses.

The rest of the financial sector was mixed even as three banks all beat expectations for the quarter. BB&T was down 12 cents at 37.26, AmSouth Bancorp gained 12 cents to 24.91, and Commerce Banc fell 92 cents to 54.26.

Newspaper publisher Gannett announced earnings that were in line with estimates, boosting profits by 9% from a year ago. But Media General, which runs broadcast stations and major metropolitan newspapers, missed its estimates by 6 cents per share.

Gannett climbed 99 cents to 82.38, while Media General lost 8 cents to 62.52.

In its first day on the New York Stock Exchange, Domino’s Pizza traded at 13.50, 50 cents below its offering price of 14 per share.

Advancing issues barely outnumbered decliners on the NYSE, where volume was light.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies was up 1.01, or 0.2%, at 563.25.