US stock indexes are mixed; Pepsi rallies on solid results

NEW YORK – U.S. stocks are mixed Tuesday afternoon as household goods companies rise but banks continue to struggle, as they have for most of this year. PepsiCo is gaining ground after reporting solid second-quarter results. Stocks started the day higher but have given up much of that gain.

KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 index added 3 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 2,787 as of 1:45 p.m. Eastern time. The benchmark index is on pace for its fourth gain in a row and seventh in the last eight days.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 96 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 24,873. It rose as much as 168 points earlier. The Nasdaq composite lost 13 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 7,742.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks lost 12 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 1,691. That index had climbed almost 4 per cent over the last five days. Most of the stocks on the New York Stock Exchange traded lower.

The U.S. and China are now in open conflict over trade, but Wall Street has focused instead on last week’s strong jobs report for June as well as company earnings reports. Major U.S. banks including JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup will announce their results Friday morning.

DRINK UP: PepsiCo’s beverage sales are still struggling as the company tries to adjust to Americans’ changing drinking habits. The maker of Gatorade, Mountain Dew and Tropicana said sales in North America fell, but its earnings were better than expected and analysts were pleased with its results in other markets.

The stock rose 4.3 per cent to $112.36.

ENERGY: U.S. crude oil futures also gave up an early gain. It fell 0.1 per cent to $73.80 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 0.7 per cent to $78.62 a barrel in London.

Energy companies continued to rise. Exxon Mobil rose 0.8 per cent to $83.58 and Chevron picked up 1 per cent to $127.24.

GUT RENO: The shakeup at Lowe’s continued as the home improvement chain said its chief operating officer and several other executives are leaving because their jobs are being eliminated or assigned to other executives. Marvin Ellison became Lowe’s CEO on July 2 and the company’s chief financial officer announced his retirement in June.

Lowe’s climbed 1.7 per cent to $98.61.

JAMMED: J.M. Smucker said it will sell its U.S. baking business, including Pillsbury. Brynwood Partners will buy the division for $375 million. Smucker said the business had about $370 million in sales over its last fiscal year and the sale will reduce its adjusted profit by 25-30 cents a share this year. The stock declined 2.3 per cent to $108.37.

BONDS: Bond prices were little changed after a sharp drop one day earlier. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note held steady at 2.86 per cent.

Utilities and phone companies recovered some of Monday’s losses. Those stocks pay large dividends, and investors often view them as alternatives to bonds. When bond yields rise, the big dividend payers become less appealing to investors who are seeking a source of steady income.

BANKS SINK: Financial companies took losses. Citigroup fell 1.3 per cent to $68.05 and insurer MetLife lost 1.5 per cent to $44.77.

Banks have fared far worse than the rest of the market this year. Industrial companies, which have fallen out of favour as Wall Street braced for a trade war, also continued to struggle on Tuesday. Delta Air Lines fell 1.3 per cent to $49.85 and Fortive lost 1.6 per cent to $76.65.

METALS: Gold fell 0.3 per cent to $1,255.40 an ounce. Silver lost 0.3 per cent to $16.09 an ounce. Copper sank 0.4 per cent to $2.84 a pound.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 111.23 yen from 110.82 yen. The euro fell to $1.1744 from $1.1749.

OVERSEAS: France’s CAC 40 gained 0.7 per cent and the German DAX added 0.5 per cent. The FTSE 100 index of British shares rose 0.1 per cent. The FTSE 100 has rallied over the last few days as investors saw signs Britain would keep closer trade ties with the European Union after it leaves the EU.

A cabinet meeting held Friday by Prime Minister Theresa May yielded plan that favours closer trade ties including a partial free trade zone.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.7 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.4 per cent. In Hong Kong the Hang Seng dipped less than 0.1 per cent.

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AP Markets Writer Marley Jay can be reached at http://twitter.com/MarleyJayAP His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/marley%20jay