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Stocks Climb To Mixed Finish As Boeing, Texas Instruments Bolster Late Trade

Stocks staged a positive turnabout late Wednesday, rising into the close with Boeing (BA), Walt Disney (DIS) and Exxon-Mobil (XOM) leading the rebound.

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The Dow Jones industrials landed a 0.4% gain, its first advance in six sessions. Boeing topped the index, riding strong first-quarter results. Disney kicked up late, aided by an upgrade to market perform, from underperform, from BMO Capital. Exxon surged after raising its quarterly dividend by more than 6%.

The S&P 500 held to a 0.2% gain, as Edwards Lifesciences (EW) dropped hard and miner Freeport McMoRan (FCX) tumbled for a fourth-straight day. At the head fo the S&P 500 list, railroad Norfolk Southern (NSC) and tax man H&R Block (HRB) jumped 7.8% and 5.7%, respectively.

Heavy losses by TripAdvisor (TRIP), Checkpoint Software (CHKP) and generic drugmaker Mylan (MYL) prevented the Nasdaq Composite from shedding its fractional losses. But Texas Instruments (TXN) hopped up 4.2%, Biogen (BIIB) gained 3.1%, both on first-quarter results reported late Tuesday. Biogen also received an upgrade, to outperform, from neutral, from Robert W. Baird on Wednesday.

Crude oil prices gained 0.5%, with U.S. benchmark crude settling at $68 .05 per barrel. Bonds edged lower, sending the 10-year yield up 3 basis points to 3.03%. The telecom fiber optic gear makers and mortgage services groups posted the session's heaviest losses among the 197 industry groups tracked by IBD.


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In the fiber optics group, names including Oclaro (OCRL), Lumentum (LITE) and Finisar (FNSR) all took hard hits. Among the rate-sensitive mortgage services stocks, LendingTree (TREE) and HFF (HF) dropped 5% and 17%, respectively.

Apple (AAPL) pared its gain at the close to 0.5%, as investors awaited details on a meeting between Chief Executive Tim Cook and President Trump. Cook reportedly also met with Trump economic advisor Larry Kudlow, as well as U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer, as well as with the president. On Wednesday morning, Trump tweeted that the meeting would cover many topics, including "how the U.S. has been treated unfairly for many years, by many countries, on trade." Apple shares are fighting to regain their 200-day moving average.

Three of four FANG stock tech leaders finished the session lower. Alphabet (GOOGL) led the group, up a fraction after Stifel Nicolaus upgraded the stock to buy from hold, following the company's Q2 results Tuesday. Netflix (NFLX) slumped 0.4%, after pricing a $1.9 billion offering of high-yield bonds. Its shares are off 6% for the week, but rebounding back above their 50-day moving average.

Boeing, Comcast, Texas Inst Advance; Facebook, AMD Set For Earnings

Facebook (FB) ended flat as investors looked to the social media giant's Q1 report after the close. Consensus views project a 31% rise in EPS, with revenue up 43% to $11.452 billion, according to Zacks Investment Research. It is Facebook's first quarterly report since the Cambridge Analytica data privacy scandal broke last month. Facebook shares had been recovering from a March low, but are now down 5% for the week after meeting resistance at their 50-day moving average.

Boeing throttled up 4.2% after reporting first-quarter revenue and earnings significantly above expectations. Management also raised its full-year earnings guidance to well above consensus targets. The stock is attempting to retake its 10-week moving average. It is forming a cup-type base with a 371.70 buy point.

Other top defense names also posted results early Wednesday. Northrop Grumman (NOC) trimmed its early loss to 2.6% after reporting Q1 results. General Dynamics (GD) slumped 3.4%.

Chip stocks returned to volatile trade late in the day. Texas Instruments stretched its gain to 4.7%. Teradyne (TER) collapsed 16% as Robert W. Baird cut the stock to neutral, from outperform. The chip equipment maker on Tuesday warned its second-quarter results would miss consensus targets due to weakening demand for mobile testing devices.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) tanked 3.7%. It reports earnings after the close.

Comcast maintained a 2.7% gain following its first-quarter results. The company also formally offered $31 billion in its long-running battle with Walt Disney and 21st Century Fox (FOX) to take over U.K.-based broadcaster Sky. Disney shares closed up 1.7%. Fox also advanced 1.7%.

IBD 50 Stocks: Edwards Dives, Align Rises Into Q1 Report

Among IBD 50 stocks, Align Technology (ALGN) gained 5% ahead of its quarterly results, due out after today's close. The maker of clear, orthodontic braces is below its 10-week line, in a two month base pattern.

At the bottom of the list, Edwards Lifesciences pared its loss to 3.8% at the finish. The medical products leader delivered a strong first-quarter sales and earnings beat. But second-quarter guidance was softer than expected, and sales came up short in the company's closely watched TAVR segment, although management raised its full-year earnings outlook to above analyst forecasts. Shares are in a shallow consolidation below a March high.

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