US Stocks Rise in Early Trading on Mixed Company Earnings

NEW YORK (AP) – Technology and energy companies led U.S. stocks modestly higher in early trading Friday, erasing some of the market's losses from a day earlier, as investors weighed a mixed batch of corporate earnings reports.

Wayfair vaulted higher after reporting quarterly results that topped Wall Street's forecasts. Kraft Heinz plunged after disclosing a federal investigation into its procurement operations and slashing the value of its Oscar Mayer and Kraft brands.

Traders also continued to await developments in Washington, where negotiators from the U.S. and China held another round of talks aimed at resolving their costly trade dispute, which has contributed to a dimmer outlook for corporate earnings growth this year.

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KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones Industrial Average picked up 110 points, or 0.4 percent, to 25,961 as of 10:10 a.m. Eastern Time. The S&P 500 index rose 0.4 percent, while the Nasdaq composite gained 0.5 percent.

The benchmark S&P 500 was on pace for its fourth consecutive weekly gain. Major European indexes were headed higher.

ALL ABOUT TRADE: The world's two biggest economies are locked in a trade war spurred by U.S. contentions that China uses predatory tactics to overtake U.S. technological dominance, including pressuring American companies to hand over trade secrets and in some cases stealing them outright.

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The Trump administration has warned it will increase its import taxes on $200 billion in Chinese goods from 10 percent to 25 percent if the two sides haven't reached a resolution by March 2. But Trump in recent days has signaled a willingness to extend the deadline if negotiators are making progress.

FURNISH THIS: Wayfair jumped 31.9 percent after the online home furnishings retailer reported quarterly results that topped Wall Street's forecasts.

BIG DECLINER: Kraft Heinz tumbled 26.1 percent after the packaged foods company posted a stunning $12.6 billion fourth-quarter loss as it slashed the value of its Oscar Mayer and Kraft brands by $15.4 billion. The company also disclosed a federal investigation into its procurement operations.

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HOME SWEET HOME: Zillow Group climbed 13.7 percent a day after the online real estate information company said co-founder Rich Barton has been named chief executive.

Barton previously held the job from 2005 until 2010.

DARK CLOUD: Dropbox slid 7.3 percent after the online data storage company issued a disappointing outlook.

 

By AP reporter Alex Veiga

 

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