US stocks trade mixed amid earnings

New York, July 20 (IANS) US stocks traded mixed on Friday as investors digested earnings reports of several Dow component companies.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 42.16 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 27,265.13. The S&P 500 was down 2.12 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 2,992.99, Xinhua news agency reported. 

The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 4.94 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 8,202.30.

Microsoft reported revenue of $33.7 billion and diluted earnings per share of $1.71, both beating Wall Street's estimates. The company's results were driven by a 39 per cent year-over-year surge in cloud revenue.

Credit card issuer American Express reported consolidated total revenues of $10.8 billion, which were net of interest expense. Its quarterly diluted earnings per share was $2.07, up 13 per cent from a year ago.

Major indexes turned up into green territory on Thursday afternoon after New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said that "it pays to act quickly to lower rates at the first sign of economic distress."

Market expectations for a rate cut in July were at 100 per cent, with 43.1 per cent looking to a 50-basis-point cut, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.

However, New York Fed clarified Williams' speech later, saying it "was an academic speech on 20 years of research. It was not about potential policy actions at the upcoming FOMC meeting," CNBC reported.